Young cricketers from Cleveland Thornlands Cricket Club experienced the highlight of their short cricketing careers when they played in a demonstration game at the Gabba during the Second Test before Christmas.
The Cleveland Thornlands kids joined fellow participants from around Queensland during the lunch break of the second Test between Australia and India.
They were there as part of a cricket program, organised by Milo, designed to help give kids basic skill development and the chance to play in a fun, safe and social environment.
Michael Clarke, James Faulkner, Holly Ferling, Ellyse Perry, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson have all been part of the program.
The program is for children aged between five and 10 to develop social skills, physical fitness, sportsmanship and basic cricket knowledge.
The 12-week program is designed to be inclusive and action-packed and includes a T20 Blast specially designed to give boys and girls aged between eight and 12 the chance to play an eight-week program of real games of T20.
Everyone gets a chance to bat and bowl and it has been developed as a bridging program between MILO in2CRICKET and junior cricket.
Australian Test Captain and Milo ambassador Michael Clarke said there was no better way to spend a day than with new friends learning how to play cricket.
“I remember the first time I got to play on the SCG with my mates as a MILO kid and it was an incredible experience. Cricket Australia and MILO have been fantastic in providing this amazing experience for kids and it is something that they will remember for the rest of their lives, just like I do,” Clarke said.
Last season there were 37,000 boys and girls in the Milo program at more than 1200 clubs and centres and there were 5500 Milo T20 Blast participants across 130 clubs and centres.
The Milo program is in its 22nd year of supporting junior cricket development in conjunction with Cricket Australia, introducing more than 6 million Aussie kids to the sport.
