EVENT organiser Michael Frost says there should be no rush to expand the Luke Bush Shield concept anytime soon.
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That’s despite hailing the inaugural inter-district cricket challenge between Queanbeyan and Goulburn as a major success.
Two junior representative teams from Goulburn, in the under-13s and under-15s, travelled down the Federal Highway last Sunday to play off against their Queanbeyan counterparts in two Twenty20 matches.
It its first year, it was the Bluebags who took the honours on the day, winning both matches to become the first club to have its name etched on the Luke Bush Shield.
More importantly, Frost said Sunday’s event had proved the viability of the tournament moving forward. Although he added he would be wary of overextending the concept while still in its infancy.
“People have already been talking about expanding it to other age groups or adding more teams but I think it’d be better to just hone the idea with the [under-13s and under-15s] for the first few years,” he said.
“Otherwise all of a sudden it becomes bigger than Ben Hur and then it falls over because there’s no one to organise it.
“I think we really want to build up that culture between Queanbeyan and Goulburn first as well before we start bringing more sides into it.”
The Shield, named in honour of former Goulburn and Queanbeyan cricketer Luke Bush who passed away in 2010, has been designed to help foster greater ties between the two proud cricketing regions.
And Frost said the concept had already begun to pay dividends in terms of identifying potential future stars after several strong performances from among the Goulburn contingent.
“There was one kid from Crookwell in particular, a young player by the name of Oliver Anable who was a real find,” Frost said. “Beautiful action, beautiful run up and he was bowling with tremendous pace for a young kid.
“His dad used to play cricket for Queanbeyan as well so there’s already a connection that and that’s what this whole idea was about - building on those connections that already exist between the two areas.”
Luke Bush Shield results. Under-13s: Queanbeyan 72 def Goulburn 71. Under-15s: Queanbeyan 129 def Goulburn 9/83 at Freebody Oval.
Luke Bush Shield results. Under-13s: Queanbeyan 72 def Goulburn 71. Under-15s: Queanbeyan 129 def Goulburn 9/83 at Freebody Oval.