Photo Credit: Sydney Thunder
More than $500,000 worth of cricket gear shipped to Uganda
The Bankstown District Cricket Club continues to lead the way in supporting the growth of cricket globally.
The club, captained by Sydney Thunder all-rounder Nathan McAndrew, has been organising shipments of equipment to Uganda since 2005, with more than $500,000 worth of gear ready to be sent this year.
The equipment drive started when club member Brian Freedman met the Ugandan team at the 2004 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh.
“They were swapping bats and helmets between outgoing and incoming batsmen was the norm,” said Freedman.
Freedman discovered there was no proper cricket gear available for players in Uganda with bats being hand-crafted, shaped out of a wooden plank.
On returning to Australia, he discussed the situation with Bankstown DCC management who agreed to organise a collection of unwanted cricket gear through the Sydney Premier and Shires Cricket community as a one-off gesture to help this struggling cricket nation.
It took a little over a year to collect enough gear to fill the container which was shipped in 2005.
Fast forward to 2020 and Freedman and the club have just shipped their fourteenth container to Uganda.
“Having equipment available has seen a huge increase in participation in Uganda,” said Freedman.
“When the scheme started in 2005 there were less than 10,000 compared to just over 60,000 today.”
Sydney Thunder is committed to making a real and meaningful difference to the community, both locally and overseas, and is proud to have contributed to this initiative over the years.
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