It was a tough start to the year for the Hawkesbury Cricket Club when damaging floods impacted the clubhouse and fields at Bensons Lane massively .

With a major renovation completed on the main pavilion though , the club now has its eyes on a big 2021-22 cricket season .

Long-time member of the club , Hugh McKay , is still heavily involved in the organisational side of things but has taken a step back to ‘ let younger blokes step up ’ at the club .

He says the floods , “ impacted on us enormously ( especially ) the damage that it caused to our equipment .”

In recent years cricket has fallen away in the Hawkesbury in terms of numbers and profile with fewer juniors coming through . About half of the players that are coming to the Hawkesbury to play are from out of the district and it ’ s difficult to pinpoint the exact reason why , though McKay feels as though it ’ s just not

preferred by people anymore , particularly parents .

Notable players to represent Hawkesbury Cricket Club in first grade include Australian internationals Stephen O ’ Keefe , Peter Forrest and John Hastings . McKay thinks they have a few exciting young stars on their books for the season with a new coach also a welcome addition to the side .

Penrith cricket club life member , Michael Wholohan , is now plying his trade for Hawkesbury . McKay describes some of the new players .

“ McKay is a good man and he ’ s got a wealth of experience . He ’ s very excited and he ’ s a really good pick up for us .

“ Among a few of the talented players prepared for big seasons in first grade , Hugh McKay runs us through the names to keep an eye out for .”

On Chad Sammut , “ Big left arm quick . He ’ s a talented boy and he ’ s played second XI for NSW . He ’ s come from Fairfield and he ’ s great mates with some

of our boys . He ’ s a quality young quick which is very exciting for us .”

On Ryan Hicks , “( Ryan ’ s ) only sixteen . He was in Year 10 last year and he worked his way into first grade and did really well , scored a couple of 50s . He was thrown into number 3 and did some keeping too . He played NSW Under 17s last year . He ’ s an up and comer and he really broke through last year . He ’ s set to do great things .”

And last but not least , Pat Moore , “ Young , opening bat , medium pace bowling all-rounder . Played NSW Under 19 ’ s . He did really well last year in his first full season of first grade .”

While it may be too late for this season , if kids want to explore their potential with cricket then they can try their luck at the Hawkesbury Cricket Club which can act as an extra pathway to succeeding in a career in the sport .

Cricket NSW has announced the 2021-22 season will begin on Saturday 6 November for 1st and 2nd grade teams .

The hottest ticket of the Hawkesbury spring racing calendar is almost upon

us with the Lander Toyota Ladies Day hosting the return of many punters to the Hawkesbury Racecourse for the first time since lockdown ended .

“ We ’ re just super excited ,” says marketing manager for the race club , Kim McDougall .

“ Racing ’ s been going on but it ’ s just a bit of a shame that we couldn ’ t host anyone or have any owners or anything - but we just kept going through lockdown . We ’ re very excited to get everyone back on track .” Although certain

areas will be down on people as a result of the four square metre rule in regards to COVID restrictions , the event is almost completely sold out . With a number of restrictions still in place to prevent any potential spread of COVID-19 , the race club are still committed to making the experience as close to normal as it used to be , while still adhering to all COVID protocol .

“ There ’ s been a lot ( of preparation ) especially with COVID restrictions and planning with our spaces how much we can have , what ’ s the 4sq metre rule ,” McDougall says .

“ It ’ s been a lot of organising , especially to get our Ladies Day . It ’ s the biggest event on our calendar for spring . It ’ s widely popular as well because of

Melbourne cup week . Everyone gets dressed up and it ’ s so good that we can actually have the day . This year , with everyone back trackside and dressing up and COVID-safe , we ’ re nearly sold out .”

Ladies Day is only the beginning of a number of exciting yearly events occurring at the Hawkesbury Racecourse over the next couple of months , with two more midweek race days in November and two Christmas race days in December .

Ladies Day commences at 11:00am on Thursday 4 November and is scheduled to finish at 6:30pm . All ticketing options are sold out except for the betting ring hospitality package ($ 165 ) and the Clarendon Hospitality package ($ 145 ). All patrons must be double vaccinated to enter the venue .