Big moment for Gold Coast pair as titles loom
A CAP presentation from Queensland Fire great Kirsten Pike has helped instil state pride in Gold Coast pair Keziah Van Rijn and Nick Mahoney as they prepare for next week’s National Cricket Inclusion Championships in Victoria.
Van Rijn and Mahoney, from Runaway Bay and Mudgeeraba Nerang respectively, are part of a 13-man Queensland Deaf and Hard of Hearing team that will compete in Geelong from January 13-18.
It is the first time in 15 years Queensland has fielded a full deaf team at the titles.
Queensland’s Blind and Low Vision, and Cricketers with an Intellectual Disability sides will also line up at the inclusion championships, with Pike presenting all three squads with their playing caps earlier this week.
Now deputy chair at Queensland Cricket, Pike, 35, played one Test, 26 one-dayers and 10 Twenty20s for Australia, and helped steer the Fire to the women’s national T20 title in 2014.
The 2020 NCIC marks a significant moment for inclusive cricket in the Sunshine State, with QC to fund the travel of all players and support staff for the first time.
QC chief executive Terry Svenson said the governing body’s investment in inclusive cricket played a key role in achieving its purpose of uniting and inspiring Queensland communities through the sport.
“Queensland Cricket has an aspiration for cricket to be our state’s favourite sport, which is something we can’t achieve unless we are providing opportunities for all Queenslanders to play our game,” he said.
“We saw earlier this week at the presentation for the teams how much it means to them to represent Queensland and to receive their cap from a former player, and we are delighted we can provide players with experiences they will remember forever.
“With QC funding travel of all teams and players to this year’s championships, we hope it will encourage more people to play our game and help us grow inclusive cricket. Good luck to all players and teams.
“We know they will do the maroon cap proud.”
Mahoney’s father, Tom, will coach the Queensland Deaf and Hard of Hearing team, which will open its campaign against Western Australia before doing battle with Victoria, South Australia and NSW.