Bushrangers give Doves a boost

By Glen Atwell
DOVETON Cricket Club received a confidence boost when the Victorian Bushrangers visited Doveton’s Robinson Reserve home for training and a barbecue on Tuesday night.
A fundraising effort spearheaded by club secretary Karen Dawson secured Doveton the AGL Club of the Month award, run by Cricket Victoria.
Bushrangers Jason Arnberger, Nick Jewell and Robert Quiney arrived with a hoard of giveaways, and perhaps more importantly some helpful professional tips.
Doveton run machine Robert Campbell said it was a great experience for all those involved.
“They helped the juniors with their batting and bowling techniques and the kids loved it,” he said.
Campbell said trying to improve the technique of a senior player was as hard as teaching an old dog new tricks.
“Some of the older blokes are a lost cause, so they worked with the young ones,” he laughed.
More than 80 people attended a barbecue following training and Mrs Dawson said the giveaways were terrific.
“They had a box of stress balls to sign, signed all the kids signature bats, gave the club a large bat signed by the entire playing list and provided 12 tickets to the Australia versus South Africa one-day match next Friday,” she said.
Mrs Dawson secured the club of the month award by finding the most people to switch their gas and electricity to AGL.
“For each person that converted, they got a $50 credit to their bill while the club received a financial boost,” she said.
The boost in confidence might also help Doveton’s struggling Turf One side, which has managed just one win for the season.
But it’s not good news for the Narre Warren Cricket Club, which plays Doveton at Robinson Reserve this Saturday.
After training with the Bushrangers, the Doves could just be seeing the red leather like a rainbow-coloured beachball.