BRISBANE may have hosted the first Ashes Test of the 2013-14 season, but the real cricket action for many took place last month at St Mary’s Primary School, Beaudesert.
Students from All Saints’ Primary School, Boonah, and St Mary’s took to the pitch on November 15 to compete in the inaugural Gallagher-Gablonski Cup. The cup is a copy of the Ashes urn and named after Beaudesert parish priest Fr Bernie Gallagher and Boonah administrator Fr Peter Gablonski.
St Mary’s principal Tim Stinson said the teams of girls and boys from Years 4 to 7 had volunteered for the match and been training for two months. He said both schools played with great spirit and shared in a wonderful day.
“There were many who played their first game of cricket, and all players should be congratulated,” he said. “For the record, St Mary’s took their last wicket with just three balls to spare to win the game.”
It was a result Fr Gallagher attributed to his umpiring.
“It was a very close game and I think the result was because of my umpiring decisions,” he said.
Fr Gallagher said while he had no formal qualifications in cricket umpiring he’d “watched a lot of cricket on TV” and played the sport in his youth.
“I learned the signals from that and I did try to be fair but I may not have the job again,” he said.
