Two teams of Valley guys gather for
Sandro & Kimmie's wedding
Past president, Life Member and five-time Moonee Valley Premiership Player Sandro Capocchi married his long-time partner Kim Richardson on Friday, September 24, and two dozen Valley team-mates were there to celebrate with him.
Pictured here with Sandro are two teams of players - 22 guys - while women's team players Tien Ha and Victoria Thorneycroft went missing when the photo was taken.
The players are: L-R: Back - Minh Ha, Bob Sciacchitano, Dino Sapuppo, Lou Raffaele, Charlie Walker,
Ryan Fairclough, Jim Polonidis, Kevin Gardiner, Darren Nagle, Sandro Capocchi, John Talone, Jim
McKenzie, Mark Gauci, Joe Ansaldo, Geoff Smith, Peter Fenaughty and Sean O'Kane.
Front - Geoff McKeown, Michael Cumbo, Phill King, Dean Jukic and Daniel Phillips.
Sandro briefly forgot where he was - with two teams of players around him, he led the charge into the chapel because he thought it was time for afternoon tea in the pavilion. Alas, he had to wait a few minutes longer for the food and drink.
The cricketing guests for the wedding, at the Inglewood winery in Kangaroo Ground, included eight Life Members, long-time players, fellow committee members and more recent additions to the Moonee Valley family. It was also obvious that Sandro's a bowler - his guests included four wicketkeepers.
Past president Darren Nagle and past secretary John Talone were in the bridal party, which included Tien Ha, and also Sandro's daughter Georgia.
**Watch the website for more photos and details. Click here for some of them.
 Join Mickster in the 250 Club
There’s no more a committed clubman than Michael “Mickster” Cumbo and he is the official number one ticket holder for your Valley’s 250 Club this season.
Mick Cumbo - No. 1 ticketholder! (right)
250 Club members will gather at the Ormond Park Club rooms on Saturday evenings when we have a game result night. Membership includes full complimentary themed drinks and food and we are set to roll on Saturday 9 October with a good old-fashioned Aussie B-B-Q! Your membership of $250 helps our club in a number of ways, so please consider joining Michael and other committed members by the 250 Club. To sign up, just see Simon Thornton or Charlie Walker.
New coach, new captain for our Valley women  Moonee Valley Cricket Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Darrell Marr as coach of our women's team for the 2010/11 season, and the appointment of Clare Ardern as our captain.
Darrell, who has been a team manager with our women's teams for the past two seasons while his daughters Sam, Jessica and Beth played with our Club, has a wealth of experience in both cricket and football coaching and administration.
Moonee Valley Secretary Peter Golding (left) is shown congratulating Darrell Marr on his appointment as our women's coach.
Moonee Valley Secretary Peter Golding said Darrell presented at the interview with an excellent range of views and initiatives to take our women's cricket forward and further develop the skills of the players.
And Clare Ardern demonstrated her energy for cricket and her desire to help the team improve when she was interviewed and appointed on September 21.
 First Eleven Premiership captain Mark Gauci, who was part of the interview panel, said he was impressed by Clare's enthusiasm. Mark is shown at left congratulating Clare on her appointment.
"I have a real passion for both cricket and women's sport, and a strong desire to be involved with the development and promotion of women's cricket at Moonee Valley," said Clare, who is a physiotherapist and PhD candidate.
"My aims as a captain are to show others why cricket is a great game and actively promote my belief in the importance of regular physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle.
"I look forward to the opportunity to develop the skills of new and novice playes, and work in close consultation with past and present senior players to achieve these aims." Training will be held every Thursday from 4.30pm, starting on September 23. For the next two weeks, starting September 21, there will also be Tuesday sessions. The appointment of a captain for the team is expected to be announced next week.
Anyone wanting to join our women's team should attend training or ring Darrell Marr on 9309 3301 or 0414 528 085.
 Season's memberships
due now:
See the item in our News Pages, or go to the memberships page under the "Club News & Info" heading on the menu bar above.
 Our UK connection - Simon's the link
Simon Thornton has been a revelation since he joined Moonee Valley in the 2009/10 pre-season, and is continuing to have an impact in our recruiting for this season.
He was introduced to the Valley through our legendary Life Member John Talone - the Charles Brownlow of cricket club secretaries - and we're grateful that he was.
Simon, a stalwart of Yorkshire club Sheriff Hutton, has been lured here to become an Aussie through his Australian-born wife Mel.
In his first season at the Valley Simon played Firsts and Seconds, and now in his second season he has been voted in as our Club Vice-President.
Simon (centre) is shown above with new Valley players Joel Wilford (left)
and Kris Garland (right).
But Simon's UK connections are also helping us on-field.
He made a lightning raid on the UK in August, and as a result his former Sheriff Hutton team-mate, Joel Wilford, was recruited and has arrived in Australia.
Exchange student Kristian Garland is in Australia for a year studying at Victoria University. He discovered Moonee Valley through our website, but it's no coincidence that after he made contact with us, he found it reassuring to know he had a fellow countryman as one of the Club leaders.
Kris said recently that it's a friendly reminder to hear the English accent around the Club - and he's looking forward to the Ashes contest this summer and the chance for a bit of rivalry and one-upmanship with his new team-mates.
And to round out the UK connection, another British traveller, Gloucestershire player Steve Godden is coming to Australia in October for a working holiday and has signalled his intention to play for Moonee Valley - and again happy to know of some fellow-travellers already wearing the black and white.
 Season 2010/11 - new players welcome at the Valley
New players for all our senior and junior teams will be welcome at for the forthcoming season.
We have again entered 10 senior men's teams - four teams on turf, two two-day matting teams and four one-day teams.
Lou Raffaele is back in the chair for his fourth season as coach. Lou (left) is shown here upon his reappointment being congratulated by Club president Charlie Walker.
Two turf teams and several of our matting teams play Sunday home games, so we have a range of options to suit our players in terms of availability.
We also cater across the spectrum with our senior players, from top-grade cricketers in our highest teams through to occasional and social cricketers wanting to have a hit or roll the arm over in our one-day teams.
Seven of our 10 men's teams played finals last season - four through to Grand Finals - with flags in our Firsts and Seconds.
MVCC Committee member/Junior Co-ordinator Kevin Gardiner said Moonee Valley also fields a team in the Victorian Women's Cricket Association one-day grades, and new players of all levels of experience, starting from beginners, are welcome.
Kevin pointed out that Moonee Valley also has a well-developed junior section, which won two premierships last season.
We field Under 10s, 12s, 14s and 16s. Under 10s: (Friday evening games);Under 12s: (we have grades that play home games on Friday evenings, Saturday mornings and Sunday mornings); Under 14s: (both Saturday morning and Sunday morning grades); and Under 16s: (also Saturday and Sunday grades).
Moonee Valley's innovative program also provides opportunities for girls to integrate in junior cricket.
Anyone interested should phone Kevin Gardiner on 0417 536 896 regarding juniors, or MVCC president Charlie Walker (0409 237 543) or Senior Coach Lou Raffaele (0433 383 387 or 0450 181 948) for all other teams.
SENIOR TRAINING: We're back at Ormond Park every Tuesday and Thursday now from 4.30pm. For more details click on the News Pages tab above and see the relevant news item.
Senior Wisden - it's hot off the press and it's
here now!
Our Senior Wisden for season 2009/10 - it's here NOW
**Arosha Perera's one of our five Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
**Raj Aiyappan's another one of our five Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
**Who are the other three? See the Senior Wisden - here now!
Junior Wisden - see it here now!
Main Club contact details:
Peter Golding - Club Secretary 0419 009 721
Charlie Walker - President 0409 237 543; 9370 1802
Kevin Gardiner - Junior Co-ordinator 0417 536 896
For more contacts, see "Office bearers & Officials" under "Club News & Info" at the top of the page.
(email: - mooneev@club.cricketvictoria.com.au)
Our website: http://archive.mooneevalleycricket.com.au
The Moonee Valley Cricket Club is a section of the Moonee Valley Sporting Club .
Last updated: October 9, 2010
For more history on our Cricket Club, including Premiership match reports, click here |
