Victorian country cricketers win national Spirit of Cricket award

A team from the Castlemaine competition in country Victoria has won Cricket Australia's national Spirit of Cricket award for November for an example of fair play by its captain/wicket-keeper.

Barkers Creek Cricket Club A-grade captain David Semmens, who is also a local police officer, withdrew a stumping appeal after realising the ball had slipped from his gloves before he had broken the stumps.

The square leg umpire, standing in his first game, was preparing to give the batsman out when the appeal was withdrawn.

Semmens, who displayed similar fair play in identical circumstances in a final three years ago, was nominated for the Cricket Australia monthly Spirit of Cricket award by Castlemaine Cricket Association umpire David Mack.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said it was important to recognise examples of fair play because the way cricket is played is one of the most important features of the game.

"It is not surprising to have a country cricket winner so early in the history of these awards, given the strong support our great game has in country Australia," he said.

The other finalists for the November Spirit of Cricket award were:

While outside the award criteria, the Tasmanian Cricket Association also drew Cricket Australia's attention to an incident in a Tasmanian Cricket League game on 23 November when C-grade players stopped play to rush to the assistance of a nearby, wheelchair-bound resident trapped in his burning unit.

Three teenagers ignored heavy smoke pouring out of the building, went inside and carried the resident out in his wheelchair. They managed to extinguish the fire by the time the fire brigade arrived, reducing the damage that might have otherwise occurred. The game resumed after the 20-minute delay in play.

A separate Spirit of Cricket Award for the Pura Cup and ING Cup competitions will be awarded at the end of the year and the next points update will be published next week.