Duggan family joining forces for historic cricket match
When the scorers of a local thirds cricket match ask for the bowler’s name on Saturday, odds are it’ll be Duggan. Why? Because 11 family members are joining forces to pad up and strut to the crease in a historic match.
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There are so many sports mad members of the Duggan family they decided to form their own cricket team.
A motley crew including an AFL premiership defender, twins, triplets and a spread of players aged between 17 and 63 who will pad up to represent the Duggan name the best way they know how.
Most are used to rolling their arms over at Christmas when backyard matches last hours on end and are taken as seriously as gift selections and seating arrangements at lunch.
But for one day only, every person taking the field for Barkly Street Uniting Church Cricket Club’s thirds team will be a Duggan by name and nature.
With most of the usual team cheering from the sidelines, West Coast footballer Liam Duggan will be among the western suburbs squad playing a one day match generations in the making.
Committee member Kevin Duggan said the team sheet of the Maribyrnong club would make for interesting viewing this afternoon regardless of the result.
“It’s not often we can get the whole family together and we always have a hit which is played pretty hard at Christmas so we thought ‘why not take it one step further’?’’ he said.
Fathers, sons, cousins and uncles will strut to the crease in force as Barkly St takes on County West Cricket Club in the Williamstown and District Cricket Association.
Members of the Duggans clan will travel from as far afield as Queensland and Perth to join family members from Bachus March, Sunbury and Melbourne for the match.
And if they run out of Duggans, Kevin said the team had a couple of cousins on standby.
“Not everyone has played club cricket before but they can all play,’’ he said.
“Liam can definitely play – he’s one of the ones who wanted to do this the most.’’
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Mr Duggan, one of 12 siblings including twins and triplets, said the family would be playing for pride as well as bragging rights.
“It’s a competition so we’ve got to put our heads together and I will be telling them it’s not just a hit and giggle,’’ he said.
“We’re playing for Barkly St Uniting Cricket Club so we need to take it seriously enough.’’