Quality Wool raises the bat on 10 years of community cricket cup

QUALITY Wool and the Eyre Peninsula (EP) Junior Cricket Association will toast a successful decade‑long partnership when the Quality Wool Cup celebrates its 10th anniversary in Port Lincoln this month.

The milestone edition of the two‑day under‑14 T20 cricket competition will begin on Wednesday, January 20, ten years after the concept first took flight in January, 2012.

Quality Wool Managing Director Mark Dyson paid tribute to the EP’s junior sporting community, calling the concept a “genuine collaboration” between the family‑owned company and the region.

“Bringing up ten years is extremely significant for us, given that time period represents a third of the company’s entire existence,” Mr Dyson said.

“Well over 500 kids have gone through the Quality Wool Cup over the past decade, which we think represents a genuine and meaningful long‑term commitment to the local community.

“And we absolutely love doing it ‑ it’s been the buy‑in from EP Junior Cricket and the families that’s been the key to its longevity and success”.

Quality Wool will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, after beginning its operations in Port Adelaide in March, 1991.

In a further boost, SA Redbacks star Chadd Sayers has joined forces with the family‑owned company to help launch the 2021 tournament, signing three shirts to be awarded to the leading batter, bowler and fielder.

The 315‑wicket veteran, who in 2018 was awarded the iconic Baggy Green cap as Australia’s 452nd test cricketer, said investment in the game at grassroots level was crucial to its success at the top end.

“A number of the boys in the Redbacks squad such as Luke Robins and Henry Hunt come from the country, so it just shows how important it is to keep the game strong in those regional areas,” he said.

“All the SACA teams (Redbacks, Strikers and Scorpions) get out on the road and do plenty of coaching clinics to make sure that happens.

“Obviously it’s been a crazy year, so it’s great to hear something like this is still going ahead and ten years is a fair effort”.

The Quality Wool Cup is modelled on the popular Big Bash League (BBL) with coloured clothing and stumps, and eight “franchises” from the EP’s seven cricket associations traditionally taking part.

Matches are played at Port Lincoln’s Centenary Oval, Poole Oval and Ravendale Complex, with over 100 kids participating every year.

The format was initially devised by Glen Forbes (Quality Wool) and Tom Kenny (EP Junior Cricket Association) as a way of investing back into the local community.

Lincoln Tuna Kings are the reigning champions, having snared the 2020 tournament after a thrilling final‑day finish that saw the top four teams separated by percentage only.