Every year since 1977, International Museum Day is held worldwide sometime around May 18. This year, more than 30,000 museums are getting ready to celebrate the event in around 100 countries on the five continents!

The theme: Museums (Memory + Creativity) = Social Change

The theme of the International Museum Day 2013, Museums (Memory + Creativity) = Social Change, aims at showing that the richness of our historical heritage, preserved and displayed by museums, together with the inventiveness and vitality that have characterised the museum sector’s action in recent years, are where the strength of museum institutions lies today.
This truly optimistic theme in the form of an equation dynamically gathers several concepts that are essential to define what a museum is today, highlighting the universal nature of those institutions and their positive influence on society.

Activities around the world
Museums take advantage of the International Museum Day to meet their public and organise original activities. For instance:

• In Canada, the Bank of Canada’s Currency Museum offers to gather around collections brought in by the visitors;
• In Nigeria, objects from the reserves of the National Museum Lagos will be displayed in the museum courtyard on 20 May. The next day, a conference on the IMD theme will be animated by a museum professional, followed by a traditional dance show and a theatre play performed by the museum staff;
• In Mexico, the Museo de la Luz in Mexico City organises the reading of tales in the museum’s rooms, spectacular demonstrations on the use of lights, a science rally and a conference on the theme “The Scientific Culture in Museums and the Informal Education”.

Partners
Since 2011, ICOM patronizes the European Night of Museums, which is held every year on the Saturday closest to the International Museum Day. In 2013, both events will coincide since the European Night of Museums will take place at the same time as International Museum Day, on Saturday, May 18.

On the occasion of the International Museum Day 2013, ICOM is partnering with the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2012.

Finally, the European Museum Forum (EMF) will grant the European Museum of the Year Award on May 18, 2013, in the Gallo-Romeins Museum of Tongeren (Belgium), within the frame of a partnership with ICOM.

For More Information visit the ICOM (International Council of Museums) Website http://icom.museum/press-releases/press-release/article/international-museum-day-2013-museums-all-over-the-world-have-the-place-of-honour/

We offer a range of venues that will marry perfectly with any manner of requirements. Our appointed caterers, Food Wine Design have a stunning reputation in the district that has been established by their successful ongoing restaurant at Centennial Vineyards. A fantastic range of menus, drinks packages and bespoke dining options are available.

Imagine your company’s name up in lights on the enormous video screens in The International Cricket Hall of Fame or delivering your next sales briefing in our theater, finishing up with a VIP tour of the museum and a cocktail reception. The options are endless…

Call Mike 02 4862 1247 or email tourism@bradman.com.au to discuss your requirements.

The match referees’ on duty for the tournament will be Chris Broad, Javagal Srinath and Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees.

The 12 Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, namely: Billy Bowden, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Steve Davis, Marais Erasmus, Ian Gould, Tony Hill, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Asad Rauf and Rod Tucker, will officiate the tournament.

Umpire appointments for the warm-up matches to be played at the three tournament venues – Cardiff Wales Stadium, Edgbaston and The Oval were also announced. As at previous ICC events, the warm-up matches will not carry official ODI status.

Appointments for the semi-finals and the final will be announced in due course.

WARM-UP MATCHES

*30 May – Sri Lanka v Pakistan (D/N), Edgbaston – Bruce Oxenford and Rod Tucker (on-field umpires), Marais Erasmus (third umpire), Richard Kettleborough (fourth umpire)
*1 June – India v Sri Lanka (D), Edgbaston – Tony Hill and Ian Gould (on-field umpires), Bruce Oxenford (third umpire), Rod Tucker (fourth umpire)
1 June – Australia v West Indies (D/N), Cardiff – Kumar Dharmasena and Asad Rauf (on-field umpires), Billy Bowden (third umpire)
*3 June – Pakistan v South Africa (D), The Oval – Michael Gough and Tim Robinson (on-field), Martin Saggers (third umpire), Mike Burns (fourth umpire)
4 June – Sri Lanka v West Indies (D), Edgbaston – Nick Cook and Peter Hartley (on-field), Paul Baldwin (third umpire)
*4 June – Australia v India (D), Cardiff – Rob Bailey and Neil Mallender (on-field), Alex Wharf (third umpire), Neil Bainton (fourth umpire)

*Indicates televised matches

TOURNAMENT MATCHES (first round)

6 June – India v South Africa (D), Cardiff – Ian Gould and Bruce Oxenford (on-field umpires), Rod Tucker (third umpire), Asad Rauf (fourth umpire), Andy Pycroft (match referee)
7 June – West Indies v Pakistan (D), The Oval – Steve Davis and Nigel Llong (on-field umpires), Tony Hill (third umpire), Richard Kettleborough (fourth umpire), Chris Broad (match referee)
8 June – England v Australia (D), Edgbaston – Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus (on-field umpires), Billy Bowden (third umpire), Aleem Dar (fourth umpire), Javagal Srinath (match referee)
9 June – Sri Lanka v New Zealand (D), Cardiff – Rod Tucker and Asad Rauf (on-field umpires), Ian Gould (third umpire), Bruce Oxenford (fourth umpire), Andy Pycroft (match referee)
10 June – Pakistan v South Africa (D/N), Edgbaston – Billy Bowden and Richard Kettleborough (on-field umpires), Kumar Dharmasena (third umpire), Nigel Llong (fourth umpire), Javagal Srinath (match referee)
11 June – India v West Indies (D), The Oval – Tony Hill and Aleem Dar (on-field umpires), Steve Davis (third umpire), Marais Erasmus (fourth umpire), Chris Broad (match referee)
12 June – Australia v New Zealand (D), Edgbaston – Kumar Dharmasena and Nigel Llong (on-field umpires), Richard Kettleborough (third umpire), Ian Gould (fourth umpire), Chris Broad (match referee)
13 June – England v Sri Lanka (D/N), The Oval – Billy Bowden and Aleem Dar (on-field umpires), Marais Erasmus (third umpire), Tony Hill (fourth umpire), Javagal Srinath (match referee)
14 June – West Indies v South Africa (D), Cardiff – Steve Davis and Asad Rauf (on-field umpires), Bruce Oxenford (third umpire), Rod Tucker (fourth umpire), Andy Pycroft (match referee)
15 June – India v Pakistan (D), Edgbaston – Richard Kettleborough and Ian Gould (on-field umpires), Nigel Llong (third umpire), Kumar Dharmasena (fourth umpire), Chris Broad (match referee)
16 June – England v New Zealand (D), Cardiff – Rod Tucker and Bruce Oxenford (on-field umpires), Asad Rauf (third umpire), Steve Davis (fourth umpire), Andy Pycroft (match referee)
17 June – Sri Lanka v Australia (D), The Oval – Tony Hill and Marais Erasmus (on-field umpires), Aleem Dar (third umpire), Billy Bowden (fourth umpire), Javagal Srinath (match referee)

The current owners purchased the Victorian-era property in 2008 and embarked upon an enormous project to carefully restore Bradman’s childhood home to its former glory.

Fastidious documentation and craftsmanship went in to restoring the property to its 1911 state when Don Bradman and his family first lived in the house, including a faithful recreation of the famous tank stand where young Don hit a golf ball against the tank’s base with a cricket stump.

The Bradman Foundation congratulates the owner of 52 Shepherd Street and the team that undertook the restoration  - heritage architect Ian Stapleton, of Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners and Lenarduzzi Builders of Moss Vale.

Visitors to Bowral can externally view the property as part of “The Bradman Walk, Bowral” and can follow in Sir Donald’s footsteps by practicing their cricket skills on the full scale replica tank-stand in the nearby Museum’s Bradman Gallery.

Daniel Vettori, Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara are set to join an exclusive club of cricketers to play in six ICC Champions Trophy tournaments after they were named in their respective squads for the elite event to be staged in England and Wales from 6-23 June.

In addition to New Zealand and Sri Lanka, the six other countries have also confirmed their best cricketers in their final line-ups for one of the most prestigious nation versus nation cricket tournaments in which 15 matches will be played over 18 days with no team in a position to lose more than one match.

Vettori played in the 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2009 editions while the Sri Lanka pair has featured in five consecutive events from 2000.

When the three cricketers will take the field for their first matches in the tournament, they will join the group of Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), Rahul Dravid (India), Ricky Ponting (Australia), Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis (both South Africa) who have played in all the six tournaments from 1998 to 2009.

Vettori, in 14 matches to date, has captured 16 wickets at an average of 28.5, Jayawardena has scored 574 runs at just over 38 and Sangakkara has aggregated 461 runs at 30.73.

If all goes well and according to the plan for Jayawardena and Sangakkara, then on 17 June at The Oval against Australia, the two will achieve another milestone of becoming the most capped players in the history of the ICC Champions Trophy – 21. The two are currently sitting on 18 matches apiece and have Jayasuriya (20) and Dravid (19) firmly within their sights.

Sri Lanka will be led by world’s fourth-ranked all-rounder Angelo Mathews. Apart from Jayawardena and Sangakkara, the 2002 joint-champion have also retained Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara from the side that played in the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 in South Africa.

New Zealand, which won the tournament in Nairobi in 2000, has kept faith in a number of players from the side that reached the final in 2009, including captain Brendon McCullum, Grant Elliott, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Kyle Mills, Ross Taylor and Vettori.

Mills is the joint-second most successful bowler in the ICC Champions Trophy, having taken 22 wickets in 12 matches at just over 19. He trails Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralidaran by just two wickets.

Australia will aim to complete a hat-trick of titles after it won the event in Mumbai in 2006 and then defended the crown three years later at Centurion.

The four-time world champion will be led by Michael Clarke, who returns to the event after missing out four years ago. The squad also includes Mitchell Johnson, Adam Voges and Shane Watson who played in South Africa in 2009. Clarke, Johnson and Watson were also part of the squad that defeated the West Indies by eight wickets in the final at Brabourne Stadium in 2006.

Watson was named player of the final in 2006 for his contribution of two for 11 and 57 not out and three years later in 2009 won the player of the tournament award after aggregating 265 runs at an average of 88.33 and claiming six wickets at 25.16.

World champion India will defend its status as the number-one ranked ODI side in the world at the ICC Champions Trophy. While it will be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it includes Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli, and Suresh Raina who were members of the side that won the ICC Cricket World Cup final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai just over two years ago.

From the side that played in the ICC Champions Trophy 2009, India has retained Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Kohli, Amit Mishra, Raina and Ishant Sharma.

Dhoni’s side, besides attempting to retain its top ranking, will also try to match Australia’s feat of holding both 50-over titles at the same time. Australia has achieved this rare distinction twice – 2006 and 2009.

Host England has named a very balanced side for the event it last hosted in 2004.

James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Eoin Morgan and Graeme Swann have been retained from the squad that reached the semi-final in 2009, while in Alastair Cook, England has a captain who has not only inspired his side to second position on the Reliance ICC ODI Championship table, but he also occupies eighth position on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen through his consistent performances with the willow.

Jonathan Trott, however, is the highest-ranked England batsman in fifth position while Ian Bell, who in the only current England player to play in the 2006 tournament, is in 24th position.

Steven Finn is England’s highest-ranked bowler in third position and James Tredwell is inside the top 50 in 46th spot.

Other than England, Pakistan is the only side in this strong field of eight sides not to have won the ICC Champions Trophy.

The Pakistan side includes Abdur Rehman, Mohamamd Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Imran Farhat and Shoaib Malik who played in the 2006 tournament in India. Of these players only Kamran and Shoaib managed to retain their places in the side for the 2009 tournament in South Africa. Apart from Kamran and Shoaib, other survivors from the 2009 tournament are captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Saeed Ajmal.

Spin duo of Saeed and Hafeez feature inside the top four in the bowlers’ rankings while in the batting table, Misbah sits in 18th position, Hafeez occupies 36th spot and Nasir Jamshed, who hit back-to-back centuries against India in 2012, holds 40th spot.

South Africa has named seven players from the side that played in its backyard four years ago. They are captain AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Robin Peterson, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn and Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

De Villiers shares the top batting slot with teammate Amla, while Steyn and Morkel share ninth spot in the bowlers’ rankings.

South Africa’s only ICC title has been in this tournament (then called ICC Knock-Out) when it defeated the West Indies by four wickets in the final in Dhaka in 1998.

The West Indies will be skippered by Dwayne Bravo and includes of a number of players who featured in the side’s successes at the ICC Champions Trophy 2004 and the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012.

Bravo, as well as Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Darren Sammy were members of the 2004 squad. Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Gayle, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Smith, besides Bravo, were instrumental in helping the West Indies win its first ICC title since 2004 when it defeated host Sri Lanka in Colombo in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 2012.

Gayle is the leading run-getter in the ICC Champions Trophy, having scored 695 runs in 14 matches at an average of 57.91. The Jamaican has also taken 17 wickets at just under 22.

Final squads:

AUSTRALIA – Michael Clarke (captain), George Bailey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Phillip Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Clint McKay, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges, Matthew Wade, David Warner and Shane Watson

ENGLAND – Alastair Cook (captain), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell,
Jonathan Trott and Chris Woakes

INDIA – Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Murali Vijay

NEW ZEALAND – Brendon McCullum (captain), Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori and Kane Williamson

PAKISTAN – Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Abdur Rehman, Asad Ali, Asad Shafiq, Ehsan Adil, Imran Farhat, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Nasir Jamshed, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin and Wahab Riaz

SOUTH AFRICA – AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn and Lonwabo Tsotsobe

SRI LANKA – Angelo Mathews (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shaminda Eranga, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardena, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Jeevan Mendis, Kushal Perera, Thisara Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachithra Senanayake, Lahiru Thirimanne and Chanaka Welagedara

WEST INDIES – Dwayne Bravo (captain), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Ramneresh Sarwan and Devon Smith

One of the most famous towns in the Southern Highlands is historic Bowral. What makes Bowral so special? Bowral was home to Australia and perhaps the world’s most famous cricketer, Sir Donald Bradman. It is due to this fact the Bradman Museum was established in Bowral in 1989 and further expanded to include the International Cricket Hall of Fame in 2010.

This year, 2013 marked the joining of Brigadoon and the Bradman Museum for the first time with the Museum hosting a stall at the Scottish festival. It isn’t just the locality of the two enterprises that joined the festival with the Museum, but rather cricket has always had a place in Scottish history with the first recorded match played in Scotland in 1785. In 1994 Scotland became a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) competing at the 1999, 2003 and 2007 world cups.

The Museum stall drew much attention with a number of the Museum’s Scottish items placed on display as well as in image of Bradman with King George VI at Balmoral Castle which taken at the end of the 1948 Australian tour of Great Britain.

The Bradman Museum would like to thank Cricket Scotland for their support in preparing for the festival and we look forward to working together again to prepare for next year when the mist rises once again on Brigadoon!

Written by Belinda McMartin, Bradman Museum Assistant Curator

Australia’s squad is:
Michael Clarke (c), NSW
George Bailey (vc), TAS
Nathan Coulter-Nile, WA
Xavier Doherty, TAS
James Faulkner, TAS
Phillip Hughes, SA
Mitchell Johnson, WA
Clint McKay, VIC
Mitchell Marsh, WA
Glenn Maxwell, VIC
Mitchell Starc, NSW
Adam Voges, WA
Matthew Wade, VIC
David Warner, NSW
Shane Watson, NSW

Average Age: 27
Average ODIs: 50
Player profiles: http://www.cricket.com.au/players

Commentating on the squad, CA National Selector John Inverarity said:

“The NSP has selected a well-balanced squad of 15 players under the leadership of Michael Clarke which it believes can continue Australia’s outstanding record at the ICC Champions Trophy.”

“George Bailey has been appointed vice-captain of the squad to replace Shane Watson. The NSP has been impressed with George’s leadership when he stepped in to guide the ODI team in Michael’s absence last summer and leadership of the T20 team over the past two seasons. Given George’s experience and credentials, he was viewed as the ideal person for the role.

“The ICC Champions Trophy is another important step in our aim to get back to the number one ranking. As the two-time defending champion, the squad has been selected with the aim of winning the tournament, starting against England at Edgbaston on 8 June, while also keeping the 2015 ICC World Cup firmly in mind.

“Mitchell Starc and Clint McKay are recovering well from injury and are meeting targets that should ensure their readiness for the tournament. Starc showed his ability with the white ball with two devastating spells in Perth last summer while McKay is Australia’s reigning ODI player of the year. Both players are integral to our plans and along with Mitchell Johnson, form the core of the limited-overs bowling group.

“Mitchell Marsh made his ODI debut in October 2011 and is a talented batting all-rounder. Mitchell’s domestic season was interrupted by injury but there’s no doubt he has the potential to perform strongly at international level.

“Nathan Coulter-Nile is an emerging cricketer as a fast-medium bowler and explosive lower-order batsman. He is also one of the finest fieldsmen in Australian cricket and the energy he brings to his game is impressive. While Nathan has played a T20 International for Australia, we are looking forward to seeing him take his very good domestic limited overs form onto the world stage.

“Adam Voges secured the final batting position with his brilliant 112 not out against West Indies in the fifth ODI at the MCG in February. Adam and James Faulkner both made the most of their opportunities late in the summer and have been rewarded accordingly.

“As discussed last week at the Ashes squad announcement, James Pattinson and Ryan Harris haven’t been selected but will play for Australia A to prepare them for the Ashes. Some who were close to selection included Steve Smith, Aaron Finch and Moises Henriques. However Steve and Moises will play for Australia A while the ICC Champions Trophy is being played.

“Ben Cutting acquitted himself well when he had opportunities last season, but he was not considered for selection due to injury concerns.

“Shaun Marsh had a very good BBL season and the NSP looks forward to him displaying his undoubted ability with consistent performances in all three formats in the near future.

“Over the next month, available players from the Ashes, Champions Trophy and Australia A squads will use the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence (COE) for critical preparation prior to these series or tournaments. The COE, with its excellent facilities, expert coaching resources and warmer weather at a time of year when most states are starting to head into a winter climate, provides the perfect surroundings to ready the players for an important period as we attempt to defend the Champions Trophy and regain the Ashes. We also have quite a number of the Champions Trophy squad already getting match practice in the IPL or elsewhere overseas,” Inverarity said.

2013 ICC Champions Trophy
Group A: Australia, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka
Group B: India, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies

Thu 6 Jun: India v South Africa (d), Cardiff
Fri 7 Jun: West Indies v Pakistan (d), The Oval
Sat 8 Jun: England v Australia (d), Edgbaston
Sun 9 Jun: Sri Lanka v New Zealand (d), Cardiff
Mon 10 Jun: Pakistan v South Africa (d), Edgbaston
Tue 11 Jun: India v West Indies (d), The Oval
Wed 12 Jun: Australia v New Zealand (d), Edgbaston
Thu 13 Jun: England v Sri Lanka (d/n), The Oval
Fri 14 Jun: West Indies v South Africa (d), Cardiff
Sat 15 Jun: India v Pakistan (d), Edgbaston
Sun 16 Jun: England v New Zealand (d), Cardiff
Mon 17 Jun: Sri Lanka v Australia (d/n), The Oval
Wed 19 Jun: Semi-final A1 v B2 (d), The Oval
Thu 20 Jun: Semi-final A2 v B1 (d), Cardiff
Sun 23 Jun: Final (d), Edgbaston
d: day; d/m: day-night

Previous Winners
1998 South Africa
2000 New Zealand
2002 India/Sri Lanka
2004 West Indies
2006 Australia
2009 Australia

Maurice Newman, chairman of the Bradman Foundation, tossed the coin on a glorious Southern Highlands morning. Captain of the President’s XI, Peter Cox made the call but Mark Preddey won the toss and chose to take his team, Chairman’s XI, to bat first.

After 40 overs the Chairman’s XI had 220 on the scoreboard. The teams broke for lunch in the Main Hall of the Bradman Museum.

Rina Hore acknowledged the players and guests and summarised the 2012/13 achievements of the Bradman Foundation. Heydon Kerr was honoured with a special award and Keith Wyatt was thanked for his 25 years of service.

As the previous captain of the President’s XI and member of  two touring to England, Owen Zupp said a few words regarding the upcoming tour. Although jealous of this years team, Owen wished them well. Rina handed out gold ties to the team.

More than a plain life story, in On Warne Haigh offers a brilliant portrait of ‘Warnie’s’ craft, an analysis of his career through the lens of his key relationships and biggest misdemeanours, and a personalised portrait of the man as he evolved from the pizza-scoffing prodigy!

Writer Gideon Haigh was awarded a £3,000 prize, accepted by published Simon and Schuster’s Ian Marshall at a Long Room dinner, attended by Members of MCC and the Cricket Society as well as guest journalists and writers.

Marshall, on behalf of Haigh, told the audience that: “Shane Warne is every bit as much fun to write about as he was to watch, and would be pleased to be recognised in this way – he had never managed to get his name on the Honours Board at Lord’s!”

Prominent clergyman and former first class cricketer Andrew Wingfield Digby presented the prize and spoke about his cricketing memories in a keynote speech.

Other authors shortlisted included former Glamorgan and England batsman turned journalist Steve James and comedian Miles Jupp. Peter Gibbs, Andrew Murtagh and Malcolm Knox made up the six book shortlist.

The competition, run by The Cricket Society since 1970 and in partnership with MCC since 2009, is for books nominated by Members and not publishers and is highly regarded by writers and publishers.

A previous winner, former Wisden editor Scyld Berry, hailed his award as “cricket’s seal of literary approval.”

Haigh previously won the award in 2000 for Mystery Spinner: The Story of Jack Iverson, which was first published in Australia by Text in 1999.

Gideon Haigh is a member of the Bradman Museum reference panel. The reference panel of the museum provides advice, guidance and feedback as to the contents of the Museum. Gideon has been a member for several years. His input as a journalist, author and cricket tragic is invaluable.

Congratulations Gideon on another book well written!

Lyon, who was born in Young in regional New South Wales and played junior cricket there, is a major coup for the squad. The 25 year-old is already a veteran of 22 Test matches, and will bring much needed experience and leadership to the NSW SpeedBlitz Blues squad. With coach Trevor Bayliss back in charge, optimism will be high going into the season, with Lyon providing a high quality spin bowling option. The move will also allow Lyon to work closely with COE spin bowling coach Stuart MacGill.

Lyon is excited about the prospect of joining the New South Wales squad: “Having grown up in New South Wales and played my early cricket there it is an exciting prospect to be returning home. Knowing a number of the players pretty well I’m looking forward to coming to Sydney to live and being part of the Blues squad for next season.”

Lyon is one of 7 players on the Cricket Australia Contract list, giving this season’s squad an excellent mixture of experience and youth.
The bulk of last season’s squad remains the same, but after missing out on Cricket Australia contracts, Steve Smith and Moises Henriques head up a talented list that includes a strong battery of pace bowlers, including right-arm sensation Gurinder Sandhu. The tall 19 year-old won last season’s Steve Waugh Medal, despite playing in less than half the matches, and will complement a group that includes Doug Bollinger, Josh Hazlewood, Trent Copeland and Chris Tremain.

Of this year’s ‘Rookie’ list there are two new faces in Ben Dwarshuis and Jay Lenton.
Lenton, is a 22 year-old wicketkeeper-batsman from the North Sydney club, who hails originally from the Central Coast. A left-hander who strikes the ball powerfully, Lenton scored 540 runs in First Grade last season at an average of 49.09, in addition to 38 dismissals. He also featured in two Futures League matches.

Ben Dwarshuis, is a 19 year-old all-rounder from the Sutherland club. Bowling left-arm fast-medium with an action similar to Mitchell Johnson’s, Dwarshuis is also a dangerous lower-order bat who represented NSW at Under 19 level last season.

Departures from the 2012/13 Contract list are Tim Cruickshank, David Dawson and Luke Doran (all de-listed).

Cricket NSW Chairman John Warn is excited about the quality of the squad going into next season.

“Even with seven NSW players being contracted to Cricket Australia, Cricket NSW has still been able to name a very talented Contract list for 2013/14. The addition of Nathan Lyon to our squad to play alongside a group of younger players that are developing rapidly, plus having someone of the ability of Trevor Bayliss to bring the group together, means that we have the depth and experience to challenge in both forms of the game next season.” Warn said.

The full 28 player NSW Speedblitz Blues Squad for 2013/14 is:

CRICKET AUSTRALIA CONTRACTS
Michael Clarke
Patrick Cummins
Brad Haddin
Nathan Lyon
Mitchell Starc
David Warner
Shane Watson

STATE CONTRACTS
Sean Abbott
Doug Bollinger
Trent Copeland
Josh Hazlewood
Moises Henriques
Scott Henry
Daniel Hughes
Nic Maddinson
Peter Nevill
Stephen O’Keefe
Josh Lalor
Kurtis Patterson
Ben Rohrer
Gurinder Sandhu
Steve Smith
Chris Tremain

ROOKIE CONTRACTS
Nic Bills
Ryan Carters
Harry Conway
Ben Dwarshuis
Jay Lenton