Our Barooga journey 2023

Moonee Valley Cricket Club's annual pilgrimage to the Barooga Over 35s cricket tournament continued this year, with a team taking to the field in the NSW border town from January 10-12.
Moonee Valley got the points in two of our three games, and finished fourth overall - and missed winning the tournament after going down by just 15 runs in the final-day decider.
At right: Our Barooga team - L-R. Back - Wasim Abbas, Matt Thomas, Craig Pridham, Adam Chapple, Tony Gleeson, Alistair Bloom, Mark Gauci. Front - Ihtisham Uddin, Daniel Phillips, Allan Cumming and Glen Courts.
It was our ninth Barooga since entering in 2014 - it was cancelled in 2021 due to the coronavirus.
Mark Gauci has played every game in our nine years at Barooga - 27 matches.
In recognition of the heat on the border at this time of year, Moonee Valley was given permission to wear a uniform of Hawaiian shirts and black shorts.
The games are all played under match conditions, and count towards the lifetime stats record of all players.
Our 2023 team comprised current Valley players, two former players in Craig Pridham and Adam Chapple and two Valley players who are unofficially retired - Tony Gleeson and Glen Courts. They all did us proud.

  
                                   
             
Get your tickets now for our Ladies Day Luncheon at Ormond Park on February 4. You can book and pay for your tickets online now at our Moonee Valley Cricket Club store -  www.mooneevalleycricketstore.com.au  Bring family and friends - it's not only for players from our Moonee Valley women's team and the partners of players in our men's grades.
The luncheon runs from 1-5pm, but there will be plenty to do into the evening as players come off the field from the Ormond Park matches or come back after the away games. We need numbers and bookings asap so we can best cater for the guests.
  


                      

                                             

Our 50th Anniversary dinner is on - Saturday, February 25.
A considerable number of past players from our 50 years have already committed to the function - so come and join them!
You can book your tickets online - see the link address above.
You can also search for our Moonee Valley Cricket Club Past and Present Players and Supporters page on Facebook - there's a heap of info there, including a link to see who's attending the function.
For more info on the event, email Life Member John Talone at johntalone5@gmail.com   

Our Pakistan connection comes together

Past Moonee Valley Club Champion Ihtisham Uddin has returned to Australia, joining fellow Pakistani first class cricketers Wasim Abbas and Salman Afridi for the second half of our season.
When Ishti was last here, he won the Club Champion award in 2012/13 - his third and final season with the Valley - and took out the First Eleven batting and bowling awards for good measure.
He was instrumental in getting Salman and Wasim to Moonee Valley this season, and was keen to join them.
Pictured: Moonee Valley's "eyes and ears" in Pakistan - Ihtisham Uddin (centre), flanked by the players he helped us recruit this season - Salman Afridi (left) and Wasim Abbas. 
Salman was an instant hit when he arrived three games into the VTCA season and leads our division aggregate with 336 runs - and also leads the division averages with 84.00.
Wasim, who is part our our senior coaching panel and coaches our Under 16s, has also been prominent in the Firsts with bat and ball.
Ishti's had his first training session with the Valley on January 3 - after arriving in Australia a week before - and for good measure got his close friend Fawad Ahmed down to training to help look over some of our young spinners.
Leg spinner Fawad toured England and the West Indies with the Australian Test team, played Sheffield Shield for Victoria, has been a stalwart of the Big Bash League and has played T20s overseas for franchises in Pakistan, the West Indies and Canada. 
Ishti, it's good to have you back!

Moonee Valley cricket - junior and senior spots

Moonee Valley always open to new senior and junior players, both for the current season and leading in to 2023/24.
We field men's teams on both turf and hard wicket, and both Saturday and Sunday grades.
Our women's cricket team plays in a Twenty20 competition on Sundays.
We have juniors at Under 16, Under 14, Under 12 and Under 10 level, and these teams play Friday evenings.
Anyone interested in playing for Moonee Valley in the current or coming season - seniors, juniors or our women's team - can phone or text President Charlie Walker on 0411 705 381.  

Buy club clothing, pay your membership, buy tickets to club functions - do it all at www.mooneevalleycricketstore.com.au

Junior Registration - link here - https://play.cricket.com.au/club/moonee-valley-cricket-club/147223ea-86d8-eb11-a7ad-2818780da0cc

     Main Club contact details:

* Charlie Walker - President 0411 705 381; 9370 1802
* Peter Golding - Treasurer 0419 009 721
* Michael Ozbun - Secretary 0448 548 860
* Mark Gauci - Vice President 0457 778 335 
* Paul Simon - Junior Co-ordinator - 0400 946 117 mooneev@club.cricketvictoria.com.au    

Email: mooneev@club.cricketvictoria.com.au 

For more contacts, see " Office bearers & Officials " under "Club News & Info" at the top of the page

Last updated : January 16, 2023.
For more of our history, including our Premierships, click HERE