All Abilities Cricket

The year has started for Maccabi All Abilities with a ‘smashing’ success! At the end of 2023, we hoped to have three cricket sessions, but one was a washout 🌧️ So Jeff Israel kindly organised a further two dates in January. This time the sun gods were smiling upon us – which is always a bit ‘hit and miss’ (batting pun intended 😂) in Melbourne.

Our season officially finished on 31 January, which was also Adam Sieff’s birthday, so we ended the cricket session with a celebration 🥳 Lenny Gross and family organised a delicious BBQ and Caren Lubofsky baked Adam a birthday cake 🎂 In addition to the All Abilities cricket crew, some of Adam’s friends and family joined us, so it was a real party.

It was a perfect night and we had an incredible turn out 🤩 There were over 20 of us participating, so we broke up into two groups led by our incredible coaches, Jeff Israel and David Chester. Between them, Jeff and David have volunteered decades of their lives to support the All Abilities programs, and we can’t thank them enough for their infusive leadership and the obvious, individualised care and respect that they show to each player.

If you were passing by in Caulfield Park that evening, you would have witnessed some impressive cricket; from the bowling, to the fielding and the batting🏏 But greater than that is the friendship and camaraderie between the players. It is so wonderful to see the support that they show each other; buoying every player on 📣 Thanks to everyone who participates in these programs and everyone who helps make them happen.

A special shout out to Maccabi Ajax Cricket Club, who have been amazing supporters; they provided us with the cricket gear for each session and included us in their BBQ at the end of 2023. Thanks to Michael Gersun who has made the effort to join us for most of our matches 👏🏼 Maccabi Ajax Cricket Club are holding their Kabbalat Shabbat Dinner on Friday 23 February 2024, and we would love it if you could join our All Abilities table, as we come together again to celebrate great sportsmanship over a Shabbat meal. We are excited to announce that Seb Gotch will be attending as guest speaker. Seb is a former cricketer who as a keeper-batsman played for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash and Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.

Bookings can be made here: https://www.revolutionise.com.au/mvseniorcricket/events/224731

Please email our All Abilities Program Officer, Caren, at allabilities.vic@maccabi.com.au so she can ensure that the team are all seated together.

Author: Caren Lubofsky