Anthony Rocca and Robert Harvey hammer Ivanhoe footballers to a win over cricketers
They’re known for their prowess on the footy field, but AFL champs Anthony Rocca and Robert Harvey have taken to the cricket pitch for a bushfire fundraiser in Ivanhoe — and helped their team to a narrow win.
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Ivanhoe footballers and cricketers helped raise $3000 for Victoria’s bushfire relief effort after a charity T20 game played at Ivanhoe Park on Sunday drew a crowd of 300.
And it was the footballers who won bragging rights with a win over their cotenants, the Ivanhoe Saints.
The Hoers had some handy players, but couldn’t have beaten the Saints’ score of 173 without some heroics from guest stars, AFL greats Anthony Rocca and Robert Harvey.
Rocca had 16 runs plundered off his first over when the footballers were bowling, but made amends when he came in to bat at No.4.
The former Magpie belted the ball to all corners of the park, smashing nine boundaries — including four sixes — on his way to a quickfire 46 before retiring unbeaten.
One of Rocca’s sixes was BBL-worthy, sailing 100m over the clubrooms and onto the roof of the adjoining East Ivanhoe Bowls Club.
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Harvey didn’t hold back once he got on strike, hitting three fours before being caught off a slow ball from Ivanhoe Cricket Club president Mark Dixon.
Needing 24 runs to win in the last two overs, Ivanhoe Amateurs coach Ash Close proved he was no slouch as a tailender.
The 199cm spearhead bashed three sixes, including one that landed in the carpark close to a club official’s vintage Ford Mustang.
It was enough to get the footballers into a winning position in the final over.
When asked afterwards about his cricketing prowess, Rocca said he’d played as a junior and, more recently, in a limited-overs competition with mates.
Harvey quipped it was worth coming along just to see Rocca’s monster six.
Dixon and Close thanked all participants for donating their time and helping to make the event a success.
And there’s talk of a rematch next year.
Dixon told the crowd it had ben touching to see so many people from the Ivanhoe community turn out for the match.
He said the game had originally been intended as a fundraiser for the football club, but that changed as the bushfire disaster unfolded.
“We had a couple of players that got caught up in it and told their stories about how bad it was. And you saw on the news some people lost everything,” Dixon said.
“As community sporting clubs, it’s not just about playing footy and cricket. It’s about supporting people in life and about supporting the community.”
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