Crusaders Cricket Australia

Crusaders / Cricket Victoria - Schools program

Leading players are invited to take part in matches each year against school teams.

The success of the matches and the acceptance of their value by the schools has resulted in an increasing number of matches played each year to where the Crusaders occasionally play two games each week - generally Wednesday and Sunday.

An annual award is presented to the school that has excelled in performance, attitude, organisation and presentation of their match.

State secondary school boys are provided with an opportunity to participate in the program through the work undertaken by the Crusaders/Merv Hughes Foundation with teams participating in the ‘Merv Hughes Crusaders Cup Competition’ benefiting from the guidance of experienced coaches.

In addition to the traditional schools program the Crusaders are also moving with the phenomenon of Twenty20 cricket and have introduced a new program for secondary school boys to cater for this latest phase in our great game of cricket.

The beginning

The Crusaders came about in 1977 when Swan Richards, Ray Steele and David Richards met over dinner at the Windsor Hotel in Melbourne. Their idea was to involve former elite players and umpires in the development of young cricketers by improving their playing standards and promoting a spirit of fair play.

With Australian Test cricketer and ICC delegate Ben Barnett as his inspiration, Swan launched a program of matches wherein leading players would take part in games against school teams in Melbourne and, for a time, in Adelaide.

From this point, a number of initiatives have evolved including an annual schools award, specialised coaching, promising players being taken on tours to country Victoria and New Zealand, scholarships to play in England, and Crusader tours to the UK and Europe.

The Crusaders are now recognised as both international and national ambassadors for cricket.

The emblem of the Crusaders has great significance. The background of navy blue portrays the past, the sky blue the present, and the gold the future. The stars represent each State of Australia, and the bird (a martlet) is believed to have been in existence at the time of the Crusades in the 10th Century (although there is little evidence to establish whether this is fact or myth). The Oxford Dictionary quotes ‘crusade’ as a ‘cause’ and characterises the name ‘Crusaders’.

A wonderful camaraderie has grown between all connected with the Crusaders, including our patrons and our very supportive sponsors. We maintain close links with cricket’s governing bodies in Victoria, receiving valuable encouragement and support from Cricket Victoria. The voluntary assistance of numerous Test, first-class and Cricket Victoria umpires has been most helpful.