Former Eastlake Cricket Club (ECC) player, Sean Finn (“Finny”) has, unfortunately, been diagnosed with cancer and is going through a very tough time. As those who have encountered him know, “Finny” is super enthusiastic, generous and a bit quirky! Having played a little bit with Eastlake’s predecessor club, Easts, in the late 1970s/early 80s, he returned and played 65 matches for us between 2012 and 2017, all in fifth grade. He captained the team for two seasons which included taking them to the grand-final in the 2014/15 season. After finishing up as fifth-grade captain, he then took on a role supporting the first-grade team, as well as helping out with training. His printing business, Brindabella Print (which he ran out of his garage), also sponsored the ECC and it is still a sponsor of Cricket ACT. Even if you don’t know “Finny”, all players would be aware of one of the products of his printing business, the Finny’s scorebook. Sean recognised shortcomings with other available scorebooks and created a much improved product that is used exclusively by Cricket ACT, as well as further afield. Those that saw Finny at the recent Cricket ACT presentation dinner encountered the same effervescent, positive person he has always been, but unfortunately that belied his real situation. To help him along financially, a GoFundMe page has been set up. If you wish to, please contribute whatever you feel is appropriate. Every little bit will help. Here is the link to the page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/finnys-go-fund-me
Congratulations to the Eastlake Cricket Club (ECC) Masters players who have been selected to represent Australia in upcoming international competitions. Following a successful Australian National Championships over-65 tournament in New Zealand in November, where the ACT finished fourth, ECC players Kevin Rosenbaum and Mark Campbell were selected in the Australia A squad to play in Queensland in June. Kevin has been rewarded for being the equal-highest wicket-taker in division one of the national championships, while Mark batted well at number three. Also from that same ACT side, another Eastlaker, Lal Wijesiriwardana, will be playing in the same competition in Queensland in June, representing Sri Lanka. In the over-55 national championships, Paul Bennett played in his first ACT representative squad match, helping the team to finish a credible sixth in division one. Making two half-centuries and being the top run-scorer for the side, Paul has been selected to represent the full Australian over-55 squad to tour South Africa in March. This tour includes the first ever Masters Test match – to be played over three days – and an international one-day series with eight countries competing. It is fantastic to see ECC players performing at the highest levels in Masters cricket. Anyone who is aged 40 or above can play in the Masters competition, so the club would love to see/hear from anyone who has an interest in playing Masters, in what is now a very competitive competition which includes regional teams.
The Eastlake Football Club (EFC) has renewed its major sponsorship of the Eastlake Cricket Club (ECC) for a further year, ensuring the ECC will enter the upcoming cricket season in a financially sound position. The major sponsorship, which will run until 30 June 2026, is the central component of a fresh memorandum of understanding (MoU) which has been signed by the two organisations. The MoU also commits the ECC to promote the EFC and to hold major events at one of the football club’s venues. ECC President, Mr Michael Anderson said: “We are delighted that Eastlake Football Club will continue as the major sponsor of the Eastlake Cricket Club for another year. “The financial and other support the football club provides is invaluable, so much so that we wouldn’t be able to continue to operate our club in its current form without the backing of the Eastlake Football Club. “The cricket club looks forward to continuing to work closely with the football club, for mutually beneficial outcomes.” EFC Acting Chief Executive, Mr Craig Goddard said: “The Eastlake Football Club is proud of the extensive support that we provide to our local community – and our major sponsorship of the Eastlake Cricket Club is a prime example of this. “It will be terrific to see the cricket club players on the field wearing the Eastlake logo again in the upcoming summer season when cricket takes centre stage. “The Eastlake Football Club is an integral part of the local community in the inner south of Canberra – and beyond.” Mr Anderson joined Mr Goddard at the EFC to formally mark the renewal of the major sponsorship.
