More than 300 people had wielded the willow for Unltd’s annual Big Clash cricket tournament in Melbourne and Sydney.
In Melbourne, men’s Tech team and women’s Media Owners team took home the coveted trophy, while in Sydney Agencies won the women’s tournament with Tech claiming victory in the men’s in a nailbiter.
In memory of much-loved UnLtd supporter and regular Big Clash Umpire, the Melbourne event also saw the introduction of a special recognition, the Alex Pekish Courage Award. The inaugural winner of the award was Sam Kelsall.
B&T witnessed (and umpired) the finals of the Sydney event, which had a festival vibe and activations ranging from gelato carts to kombi keg van, thanks to event sponsors News Corp Australia, QMS and Seven.
In the women’s decider, a dominant 50-run partnership between IPG duo Kellyn Coetzee and Kaisha Kapadia steered the Agencies outfit to a strong total.
The pair backed this up with tight and effective bowling to ward off a plucky Media Owners response, captained by Nova’s Nicole Bence.
GoTransit’s Marika James, another standout performer and menace in the field, won player of the day while Coetzee, who marshalled her Agencies troops with great aplomb, was also the fastest bowler.
“What a match! We are thrilled to be taking home the coveted trophy after such a great day of cricket, community and giving back,” Coetzee said. “It was also inspiring to see so many beginner cricketers pick up the bat for the first time in their life and have a great time doing so. I’m so proud of my team, they gave it all on and off the field.”
In the men’s decider, the Tech Team put on a formidable 74 run total in a reduced 8 overs encounter led by captain and top all rounder Matt Coote from GumGum.
Seven’s Dan Sinfield appeared to have reigned in the free flowing Tech batsmen with a flurry of quick scalps, but his back braking effort was undone moments later with some tasty sixes off the generous bowling of Media Owners captain Chris Freel.
Looking to make amends, Freelo formed a solid partnership with QMS star batsmen and gloveman Max Hope, who allegedly plays grade one cricket for Sydney University in his spare time.
However, when boundary blasting Max was forced to retire for hitting 25 runs, and Freelo was spectacularly run out by Cootes, Media Owners’ hope began to fade.
TikTok’s Sam Powell provided an over for the ages with a couple of scalps late on that left Media Owners reeling with too much work to do at the death.
Powell went on to win the player of the day award, while Lachlan Anderson was the men’s fastest bowler.
In Melbourne, Lexi Merton and Ben Johnston were players of the day and Merton and Erwin-Ross were awarded fastest bowlers.
The Melbourne event paid tribute to UnLtd supporter and regular Big Clash Umpire, Alex Pekish by naming a Courage Award after the much loved former media buyer who sadly passed away in 2024. The inaugural winner of the Alex Pekish Courage Award award was Sam Kelsall.
Raise the Age campaign manager Emily Mayo and Unltd director of impact Jade Harley provided updates on Unltd’s campaign about raising the age of youth incarceration laws from 10 to 14, while Freelo made amends for his bowling by working the mic for the annual Big Clash auction.
The Big Clash cricket series continues in Brisbane on 6 March and Auckland on 20 March.
