As we celebrate our 50th podcast and the fifteenth anniversary of Cricket Without Borders, it is appropriate to return to the Founder and Chair of Cricket Without Borders, Clare Cannon.

While Clare reflects on the achievements of CWOB in that time, she discusses some of the highlights from tours gone by as well as some of the more recent tours to Fiji and Malaysia and also discusses the wonderful occasion when CWOB played the Afghan Women’s team in January ‘25 which led to a subsequent visit to Canberra and a visit to Yarralumla for morning tea with the Governor General.

We also reflect on some of the changes in women’s cricket more broadly over the past fifteen years, and finally we discuss one of Clare’s other great passions in her life, being her family farm“Woomargama”.

Ian Cover is one of the co-founders of the “Coodabeen Champions” who have taken a look at sport on the lighter side for around 40 years on radio; Ian is also passionate about the sport of cricket and a supporter of Taverners Victoria and in particular their Geelong branch.

A masterful MC for corporate functions, Ian had a long association with Cricket Victoria and particularly as the MC for the renowned Lindsay Hassett Club luncheons for over twenty years where he interviewed most of the biggest names in cricket and other sports in Australia.

In this Episode, he takes us for a wonderful trip down memory lane!

Clare Haysom is a dynamic young umpire on the rise within the cricket community.

Having only commenced her umpiring career in community level cricket in 2019, Clare has quickly risen through the ranks into Premier Cricket and beyond, already having officiated in a number of premier matches, WBBL , WNCL , National Age Championships, Australia A v England A and has just recently been selected to officiate in a women’s Under 19 tri–series competition between Australia, Sri Lanka and England.

We hear about how Clare’s journey in umpiring began, some of the obstacles along the way, and her aspirations for the future.

We also hear about some of the skills and attributes Clare has in her professional life as a teacher of science and physics that can be helpful when she sets foot on the field as an umpire.

Deanne is a lifelong member of the North Geelong Cricket Club along with her husband, parents and three children.

Eleven years ago, along with her father, Deanne established a girls' cricket program at the Club which has now grown to have four teams. In addition to establishing the program Deanne has coordinated the program for nine seasons and coached various teams for three seasons as well as serving on the Geelong Cricket Association Junior Girls League Executive Committee.

Not resting on her laurels, four years ago Deanne established an All Abilities team at the cricket club, and what an inspirational initiative this has proven to be, and has been warmly embraced by the whole club.

We hear from Deanne about the benefits these decisions have provided not just to her cricket club but the broader community as well, along with some advice for other clubs who may and should consider doing likewise.

Ron Woods is a high-performance cricket coach based in Sydney with extensive experience in women’s cricket having progressed to appointment within the Cricket NSW Academy coaching framework and internationally. His coaching career spans club, private, state and international environments underpinned by a clearly defined performance methodology and athlete-centred model.

Earl Eddings played 272 games of Premier cricket for Northcote and North Melbourne CC’s and soon moved into administration as President of North Melbourne – at one point he was President, Coach and major sponsor of the Club all at the same time! He subsequently joined the Cricket Victoria Board, became Deputy Chairman and was subsequently elected to the Board of Cricket Australia for 13 years, including a term as Chairman which included guiding the organisation through the aftermath of “sandpaper gate “ in South Africa and the traumatic period of COVID-19 that almost ruined Australian cricket financially.

We discuss all of the above including Earl’s personal playing career, his thoughts around the growth of women’s cricket, the potential privatisation of the BBL/WBBL competitions and also discuss the issue of concussion management through the lens of HIT IQ and the benefits of the development of technology in mouthguards that are now being widely used in a range of sports both here in Australia and globally.

Hit IQ website

Kate was a member of the Australian U25 women’s cricket team that toured India in a ground breaking tour in 1975. We talk about the tour 50 years on and the impact of it in transforming women’s cricket in India. We also discuss Kate’s career for Victoria , her career with the ABC covering both cricket and hockey , two cricket legacy projects she is working on and her professional career since 1986 as an Art Consultant creating art eco-systems across a wide range of sectors and particularly in Health, Mental Health and Correctional Services.

Nick has worked across a number of sports with Cricket Victoria, Cricket Australia, the AFL and Football Victoria specialising in programs around multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion.

Nick has strong connections to the wonderful Sunshine Heights Cricket Club with four sons who play the game (including Peter Hatzoglou who has played in three BBL Champion teams) and who also has a fascination for ancient history and sport.