Aussie invasion gathers force
by Alan Rowley / John Jackson, 23rd June 2005

With Ponting and his merry crew now safely on these shores and getting hammered by the likes of England, Somerset and lowly Bangladesh, the second wave of attack is about to reach us. The club cricketers of Collaroy Plateau, from the northern beaches of Sydney, arrive in Manchester on July 2nd for a three week tour taking in Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Buckinghamshire, Kent, Hampshire, Hertfordshire and London.

It will be a stamina sapping tour for the Aussies with 13 games in the space of 18 days, starting at Westleigh Cricket Club, Greater Manchester on the 3rd and finishing at Hambledon in Hampshire on the 20th. The ambitious itinerary has been organised by vice-president John Jackson and marks the club's 50th anniversary year.

With excitement mounting over the forthcoming Ashes series, the Barmy Army have suddenly realised that the English have a very real chance of lifting the Ashes trophy. In Australia too, lots of young and old cricket lovers’ hearts are beating faster in anticipation of a great Ashes series. As Richie Benaud said when Warne cleaned up Gatting in 1993 …”every now and then something happens to make an old man’s heart beat faster”.

The Collaroy Plateau touring squad (seen below after practice at the SCG nets) are gearing up for their own “Ashes” showdown. Preparations are proceeding as they look forward to the tour departure on July 1st.

'the follow on' caught up with the tourists after practice as they honed “boat race” skills at the Olympic Hotel adjacent to the Sydney Cricket Ground. Here are a few of their comments:

Dean Storey (dual premiership captain and tour skipper)

Have you been to England and played cricket there?: "Yes/no"
Your thoughts on the tour?: "Gunna be lots a cricket, lots a fun and lots a drinking"
Your favourite English cricketer?: "Ian Botham"
The English cricketer you “love to hate”?: "Phil Tufnell"
Your tip for the Ashes series?: "Australia 5-0"
Your Ashes prediction? (highest run scorer/highest wicket taker): "R Ponting/S Warne : A Strauss/A Flintoff"
Name something you know about Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire?: "Nottingham has lots of pubs and the women outnumber men by 3:1 because it was the centre of the lace industry."
How many times will you do laundry on tour?: "3"

Peter Henriksen (best Danish cricketer in oz)

Have you been to England and played cricket there?: "Yes/yes 1997 Manly Waratahs tour"
Your thoughts on the tour?: "Sensational!….look out Plateau are coming!"
Your favourite English cricketer?: "Ian Botham"
The English cricketer you love to hate?: "Chris Tavare"
Your tip for the Ashes series?: "Australia 3-1"
Your Ashes prediction? (highest run scorer/highest wicket taker): "J Langer/J Gillespie : M Vaughan/M Hoggard"
Name something you know about Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire?: "Rock City in Nottingham sounds good"
How many times will you do laundry on tour?: "2-3"
Your thoughts on Andrew Strauss from when you both played at Mosman?: "Great hitter of the ball but did not treat bowlers with enough respect"

Brenden Ball (marries Jo Edington on June 25…honeymooning on tour)

Have you been to England and played cricket there?: "Yes/yes"
How did you talk Jo into going on tour?: "Trained from an early age that cricket was the no. 1 priority"
Your favourite English cricketer?: "Alan Knott"
The English cricketer you love to hate?: "Nasser Hussain"
Your tip for the Ashes series?: "Australia 6-0…do they have 6 tests?"
Your Ashes prediction? (highest run sorer/highest wicket taker): "R Ponting/G McGrath : K Pietersen/:they’re all rubbish"
Name something you know about Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire?: "Pass"
How many times will you do laundry on tour?: "Zero ….what do you think I am getting married for"

The tourists full itinerary is as follows:

Jackson told 'the follow on': "We are not the greatest side ever to leave Australia. We play for the love of the game and we are all paying our own way on this tour. The objective of our tour is to sample cricket where the game was invented and build grass roots cricketing contacts. We're all looking forward to the tour and to talking cricket with 'the follow on' community in July. For those going up to Headingley on July 7th, please visit us in Block D, Western Terrace."

It's going to be an exhaustive tour for the Aussies but they are assured of a warm welcome, especially when they start their Nottinghamshire / Derbyshire leg of their tour on July 9th. Why not book a couple of days off work, come along to one of the games and make some contacts for your next Sydney visit?

More: The Aussies are coming ...