Yarra Pub Cricket Association
History
No one is entirely sure about the origins of Pub Cricket in the Yarra area, but social games have been part of community history for decades. During the 1980s, local pubs such as The Lord Newry, The Old Homestead, The Dan O’Connell and the Marquis of Lorne played each other throughout the summer.
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Over the years, the popularity of the modified rules games of Pub Cricket led to an ever increasing number of teams turning out to play, necessitating the formation of the Yarra Pub Cricket Association (YPCA) in 2001 to manage the season’s activities (This was two years before the first Twenty20 games appeared on the professional cricket scene!).
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Since 2001 the YPCA has also held The Big Day Not Out (BDNO), an annual Knock-Out Competition/Community Carnival Day in March each year. This event has been well supported and has become a popular fixture on the Yarra social calendar. The BDNO is organised and staffed by a small army of volunteers from the local community.
JOIN A TEAM
The YPCA is welcoming and inclusive for all people regardless of ability, race, sexuality or gender identity. The only prerequisite is a love of cricket.
Want to join a team? There are a few options:
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Head to Edinburgh Gardens Nets (Cnr Napier & Freeman St Fitzroy North) on Wednesday nights from 6.30pm for league training and get roped in for a game. Starts Oct 11th 2023
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Head to one of the pubs and ask about their team
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The Spirit of Pub Cricket
Like the pubs that grace the leafy streets in this blessed pocket of Melbourne, Pub Cricket is sociable, inclusive, accessible and deeply rooted in the local community. On any Sunday, you might find an international student bowling to a doctor, who edges to a plasterer who drops it, much to the amusement of the female punk rocker at mid on and the retired public servant in the gully. Then drinks are called. This is Pub Cricket.
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It’s about mixing with those in your local community. It’s about getting the family out for an afternoon in the sun. It’s about having a bit of a hit, a chat and a drink afterwards with friends. It’s about taking the craic and the camaraderie that is born of sharing a beverage, whether that be a beer, a glass of wine, a soft drink or a cup of tea, beyond the doors and beer gardens of our public houses. And sure, it’s about the great game we call cricket. The game itself is a contest and the winner gains bragging rights, but there are no competition points at stake. In fact, to call what we play a competition isn’t really accurate. That’s why it’s often called the League. It’s not about competition; it’s all about participation. That’s the whole point – this is Pub Cricket.
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The YPCA exists to provide the opportunity for local folk to participate in a social sporting activity in a friendly environment, particularly encouraging people who may not otherwise have the opportunity to be involved in any sport to have a go. The typical barriers to participation in sport these days are time, ability and money. Most cricket competitions require players to train twice a week, and selection is based on ability. Annual subscription fees of over $500, payable in advance, are not uncommon, as are expensive team uniforms. The modified rules and philosophy of Pub Cricket, where the emphasis is on participation and enjoyment rather than results, together with the low costs involved, hopefully helps to reduce those barriers to make cricket more accessible to the broader local community.
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In the great 1997 Australian film The Castle, Tiriel Mora plays bumbling lawyer Dennis Denuto who, in describing the platform of his client’s case, mutters the phrase, “It’s just the vibe of the thing”. That phrase resonates through many parts of Australian life, but nowhere more truly than with Pub Cricket. Remember the vibe of the thing people; embrace it, and carry with you the Spirit of Pub Cricket.
The YPCA acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land where we play and live, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders of all communities who also live on this land.
