TEAM EFFORT FOR ZANDER
BREE Fergusson glanced around Osborne Park, and the tears flowed.
With dozens scattered around the ground and hundreds spilling out of the clubrooms — all in support of her son, Zander — the young mother was overcome with emotion.
“We didn’t plan for this … you don’t ever plan for this,” Bree said of the illness that has gripped six-month-old Zander, who was in the arms of father Andrew.
The community banded together yesterday in support of the Fergusson family, who are preparing to make the trek to Adelaide to provide Zander with lifesaving surgery.
He requires a procedure on his skull to release pressure on his brain, having been diagnosed with Saggiatal Craniosynostosis.
With a charity cricket match featuring some of local cricket’s biggest stars — Zander’s T20 All-Stars game — and a host of activities, thousands of dollars were raised for the family.
“To think that we can do it without being so stressed, it’s amazing,” Bree said. “We’ve sold our house to make sure we’re not stressed. We need to be strong for him and to have everyone’s support, it will make it so much easier. A lot easier. It will give us the time that we need with him and hopefully everything will just be fine and we can get back to living like normal. This is huge.”
With the cream of GCA talent taking centre stage in the charity match organised by close friend and North Geelong skipper Sam Hall, as well as Grovedale captain Barry Tsitas, Andrew Fergusson soaked it all up from the sidelines.
But Andrew too was taken aback by the outpouring of support by the wider cricket fraternity.
“I’m overwhelmed,” Andrew said. “What a great turnout. There’s so many people here. They’re here not just to watch a game of cricket, but they’re here for Zander, Bree and myself. I can’t speak highly enough of everyone that’s organised this — North Geelong, Sam and Barry. I’m lost for words.”
Bree never imagined so many people turning up.
“I imagined about 70-80 people inside the North Geelong rooms for Sunday drinks,” she said.
“That’s all I imagined, not this at all. Not a quarter of this. They’ve just done so much for us. The amount of people that are here … I know we have a lot of support, but I didn’t think it would be this much.
“There’s people everywhere, people we haven’t seen for a long time and people we didn’t expect to be there.
“There’s a team that has put everything together, whether it be the cricket match, catering, activities for the kids … everything. It doesn’t feel like it’s for us. It feels surreal. We’re so thankful.”
Hall, who was the brainchild of the charity match, was “proud” of what organisers had achieved.
“It’s hard to put into words how thankful we are for the work everyone has put in,” Hall said. “It’s not just the cricket game and what we did, it’s everyone.
“The guys that got that pitch ready … it was underwater yesterday. They were out there all day and until late last night and back here at 7.30 this (yesterday) morning. They were here with blower vacs and doing everything we could to get it ready. It’s just great.
“All we did was play a game of cricket, really.”
Tsitas, who helped rally the troops and arrange uniforms, was in tears post-match.
“You go out if your way for people when they need it and there’s a lot of good people out here helping this beautiful family,” Tsitas said.
The game lived up to expectations, Fergy’s XI beating Zander’s XI in a final-over thriller. Set 151 for victory, Lara captain Dan Weigl crunched 71 to see his side home with four balls to spare.