Professionals Tamborine Mountain 
One of the best things about living on Tamborine Mountain is its strong sense of community. There’s always something to do to get involved with the local spirit, and there are few examples as clear as the mountain’s various sports teams. Today we’re sitting down with Neil Bell, president of the Tamborine Mountain Canungra Cricket Club— also known as the Bushrats— to chat about the club’s storied history and their many accolades.
by Kyle Hitchmough
For those who might not be familiar, can you tell us about the club?
It’s just about playing cricket. We’ve got programs for 5-year-olds through to some of our players in their 70s. It’s great fun. On a Friday afternoon we do 5 years old to about 9 years old, and that’s purely about participation, having fun, and running around like a mad kid. Then we have under 11s and under 12s, they’re on hardball cricket and for the under 12s it’s their first competitive year. It’s still very modified rules, it’s about participation, everyone gets a bat, a bowl and a wicket keep. It’s very inclusive. Then in our club we jump up to under 15s and 16s, an open side. Then we’ve got two third-grade sides playing on the turf, and two over-40s sides. It’s a massive collection.
Where does the club normally gather and play?
We are at the Long Rd sports grounds, predominantly the Chris Wills Oval. It’s a fantastic facility. It’s the best pitch on the Gold Coast and that’s thanks to our curator Barry Gill, he’s an absolute genius. Barry will spend 20 hours a week curating the ground, double the work of anyone else and that’s what makes it so good.
Do new players have to have their own equipment?
Not necessarily. For juniors in particular, we have kit bags for everyone, but generally the best thing about having kids playing cricket is that all your Christmas presents are taken care of! They use a kit bag for the start of the season and then get all their own gear. Definitely by the open divisions, the 13s and 14s, they have their own gear and so does every senior, but everyone’s very willing to share if a new person comes down and doesn’t have any gear.
Do you compete against other clubs?
The under-11s and under-12s play against other clubs. The good thing about that age group is it’s purely the northern Gold Coast. It’ll be from Mudgeeraba, Nerang-ish, north right up to Alberton, but no further south. It is competition level with the under-12s whereas the under-11s just turn up and play. When we go up into those higher juniors, it can be incredibly competitive. Some parents think their kids are playing for Australia. And then, of course, in seniors we always want to win.
What do you believe is the biggest demographic of members in the club?
It’s incredibly broad. If we’re looking at what the majority of cricketers at our club are, I guess it’d be the 25-55 year old males. We do have a female cricket side this year that’s just started, so it’ll be cool to see that really grow.
How did you come to be involved in the club?
I’ve always loved cricket. I moved to the mountain 17 years ago and I got hooked into playing cricket by Chris Wills, who our oval is named after. I’ve been a Bushrat ever since. I was involved in the board of the Tamborine Mountain Sports Association, but when I stepped down from that four years ago I put my hand up for the cricket club and nobody else wanted to do it!
As a local, what’s your opinion on the Tamborine Mountain area and community?
The community’s fantastic, always has been. The Bushrats are well known for fair play, inclusivity, and encouragement. Last year we won the Spirit of Cricket award from the Gold Coast Umpires Association. Particularly our juniors, they don’t sledge, they don’t talk trash, they look after each other and encourage the other team. That’s what we’re well known for, and that reflects the wider community on the mountain and Canungra.
What’s your favourite thing to do on the mountain?
Everything up here is pretty cool! All the bushwalks down into the secret little swimming holes that I’m not going to reveal. The locals know where they are, they’re great places to go.
What do you think the cricket club really provides to the area?
It’s another option for people to play. Team sport is incredibly important, not just for juniors but for adults as well. There’s heaps of research around the effects it has on your mental health and physical wellbeing. The Bushrats is another option for that, particularly in the summer months when team sport tends to drop off. We offer a community, we look after each other. My favourite part of playing cricket is when we’re sitting in the dressing sheds after a game, having a beer and making fun of each other, but also talking about what’s going on in our lives, in our kids’ lives. It’s a community and a friendship group, and we look out for each other. It’s just the people.
What’s been your most memorable moment in your time here?
A couple of years ago two of our players got a life membership. That was a really big moment. Taylor Ericsen-Miller, he’s been here since the start as a junior. He’s a very good cricketer, one of the best on the Gold Coast, but he’s always played for the Bushrats. And Barry Gill, who just puts his whole heart and soul into the club. Them getting their life memberships was a standout moment for me.
Is there anything else you’d like to go on the record?
We run a transplant cricket weekend every year in honour of Chris Wills and now also Leah Barker, who is the wife of one of our cricketers. Chris Wills had a heart and lung transplant. He played for Australia in the cricket transplant side, made 100 in England. He actually died after playing for the Bushrats, he scored a 50 not out, went off the field and died. It’s now called Great Southern Bank Big Bash every year on the 13th of April. What I’d love to put out there is the more that our community comes out and watches and buys some drinks and food, then the better that is for the cricket club but also for transplant awareness.
Tamborine Mountain Canungra Cricket Club
400 LONG RD, TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN QLD 4272
We are always looking for new topics for our blog. If there’s something you like to see more of, send your suggestions to: social@professionalsserendipity.com.au, or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com.
