There have been a lot of legends and superstars to grace the holy land of the MCG and in the last month, Challenge has seen two of its rising superstars join this elite group.
Two of Challenge’s most aspiring, young members who love cricket, Houston and Blake, each had the opportunity to be the 13th Man for the Victorian Bushrangers. They enjoyed rubbing shoulders with some of the sport’s biggest talents, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Siddle, Cameron White, Fawad Ahmed, Dan Christian, Chris Tremain and Scott Boland.
The first of the boys to whip out his bat and show us his spin was Houston as he buddied up with cricketer Sam Harper against the Tasmanian boys with Australian Test player Peter Handscomb as captain.
Next in line to field the ground was Blake, who was accompanied by fellow Ballarat cricketer Matt Short to take on the Western Australians under Aaron Finch’s strong leadership.
Both boys, from the moment their feet met the turf, were made to feel extremely welcome by both their teammates and coach Andrew McDonald. As they eased their way into the role of 13th Man, they were kept busy assisting the 12th Man at drink breaks and running out much-needed supplies to the fieldsmen.
To be given this opportunity when you are a cricket fan, is something truly inspiring. Cricket Victoria should be extremely proud of their team and the way they interacted with the families and made them feel so welcome. You just never know, we could see Blake or Houston one day representing the Victorian Bushrangers, if not Australia!