By Ethan Benedicto
The Berwick Cricket Club celebrated their 2024-2025 season opening on Friday 13 September, where they hosted their annual player auction at La Baguette, High Street.
With the crowd trickling in around 7pm, it didn’t take long for members and players alike to flood the cafe’s floors, filling the room with talks of the previous season and their auction predictions.
Akoonah Ward candidate and La Baguette owner, Mush Rahaman, has cited the event as an example of effective collaboration between local businesses and sporting clubs, a much-needed partnership for his goals for a prosperous ward.
Rahaman added that events like these bring people together, especially sponsors, and he added that “not everybody has the capacity to host their events”.
“For example, Brad Battin himself is coming, but he’s also a sponsor and there are other businesses as well.
“So when the sport is on, it’s not only entertaining the local residents or the supporters, but it’s also something to be proud of, it’s bringing the businesses together, the community together, it’s our pride.
“The community we have here is very rich, and I would like to maintain that.”
Rahaman is steadfast in the commitment to these partnerships, and the goodwill between businesses and sports in the locale to foster that sense of camaraderie on the wider population.
The club’s president, Andrew Moore, sees the partnership as a boon for both parties, but also for everyone else involved.
“Sponsors are the ones that allow us to get all these kids to play the sport at the end of the day, and if we didn’t have that support they wouldn’t be playing,” Moore said.
“This is extremely important, it’s good for us as a local club, because these businesses, we’ve got to show them support because they support us, which in turn supports our 21 junior sides – which is a lot.”
The opening night also served as a player auction, where potential sponsors or other members and supporters could bid on a select number of players, all in an effort to raise funds for the club’s operational costs.
Of course, there is always the sentiment of the player that one has bid on and made certain connections with eventually performing well throughout the season, but to Rahaman, that’s simply a side effect of the wider impact these events have on the participants and the people.
“La Baguette isn’t a big organisation that can afford a big amount of money, but even little vouchers can contribute,” Rahaman said.
“Those little things build up and inspire others, and when you start putting all the little things together, it becomes big.
“And you know, if one business is doing it, others might join in and do it, it’s also about inspiration.”
It was all about creating an example through the cafe, where the business served as a medium for Rahaman’s vision of people coming together.
Ryan and Kristy Crawford, a couple who have been involved with the club for as long as they could remember were the first to bring Rahaman into being a sponsor for the club, serving as the bridge that led to that partnership.
Recalling the couple’s first time visiting La Baguette, Ryan said that “I came in here [La Baguette] for a coffee and I had a Berwick Cricket Club top on”.
“Mush came up to me and said, ‘I want to be on that top, how do I get on it?’, and I said I’ll put him on to the right people.
“Kristy and I are heavily involved in the club, I played there for 20 years and Kristy scored for 10 years, so it was good to just put it together.
“He’s a good man and he’s trying to do the right thing for the community.”
Also in attendance was Berwick MP Brad Battin, who spent the evening speaking to members of the club and other attendees; of course players up for auction were present, as well as a number of long-time sponsors.
To Rahaman, events like these are something that “we need to start sharing more of”.
“More community events, where people of other culture, other backgrounds, other heritages are welcome, where they can start coming in.
“This is an example of where everybody is invited, and I want to start promoting a message where everyone is welcome.”
