SAS veteran is going in to bat for healing

Veteran and cricket tragic Harry Moffitt is using his love of the game to help heal old wounds between Special Air Service and Commando Regiment soldiers.

SAS v Commandos cricket match organiser Harry Moffitt at his local ground in Melbourne on Monday. Picture: David Geraghty

Former SAS sergeant Harry Moffitt took a cricket bat on each of his deployments to Afghanistan, playing games with whoever he could find — fellow Aussies, former British Gurkhas, security guards, and even street kids.

Now the veteran and cricket tragic is using his love of the game to help heal old wounds between Special Air Service and Commando Regiment soldiers, who were for years toxic rivals.

Moffitt and his Commando counterpart hope to lead their teams onto Sydney’s Reg Bartley oval just before Australia Day, COVID-19 permitting, for their annual social cricket game.

The match will take place under the shadow of the Brereton war crimes report, which found credible information that Australian special forces soldiers were involved in the alleged murder of 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners.

“In the past it has been a way to come together and to show not all of us hate each other; a lot of us are close mates,” Mr Moffitt said.

“Now the game takes on a different meaning, and we’ve talked about this in the special forces community, how this can be part of the healing process.”

Unlike some former special forces soldiers, Mr Moffitt said now was not the time to complain about the prospect of losing unit citations or having an SAS squadron disbanded, as recommended by the inquiry.

“Right now, as a community, we should be hanging our heads in contemplation, reflecting on how the f..k we got here,” he said.

“There will be a time for consideration of medals and promotions and all of those things. But right now is time for silent reflection, and eventually there will be a time for cricket. And I hope cricket plays a role.”

Mr Moffitt, who served more than 20 years with SASR and is now a high-performance business coach, is the author of a newly ­released book, Eleven Bats, about his lifelong love of cricket. It tells the story of the bats he took on ­operational deployments, to East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the games he played with soldiers, locals and visiting politicians.

Once, his patrol challenged the Taliban to a game after their interpreter said the insurgents — who had watched the SAS play from their hiding place — had ­accused the Australians of being “shit cricketers” over the radio.

“Tell them to come down out of the hills for a game. I’ll show ’em who can play cricket,” Mr Moffitt said at the time. “Whoever loses has to leave the valley.”

The Taliban declined, and many of them were thought to be killed in a subsequent firefight.

The Commandos have won both of the two previous formal games. “I’ll captain until we win — it might take until I’m 90,” Mr Moffitt said. “We are a bit of a Dad’s Army compared to the Commandos, who stack their team with fit young players.”