Toowoomba Dragons, Toombul to wear specially designed Indigenous jerseys for local showdown

The Toowoomba Dragons are heading into a crucial Major League indoor cricket encounter this weekend, and they’ll be paying tribute to Indigenous culture on home soil against Toombul.

INDOOR CRICKET: The Toowoomba Dragons are currently on the charge for a Major League finals appearance, and they’ll look for inspiration against the league’s top team.

The Dragons will be celebrating Indigenous round on Saturday in their home clash against ladder leaders Toombul.

Both teams will be wearing special Indigenous shirts for the occasion, with Toowoomba Indoor Sports cricket co-ordinator Matt Hansson saying it was an important milestone for the club and sport.

“It’s exciting and is our opportunity to show the community that we care,” he said.

“Having Gibbsy (player Kieren Gibbs) involved in our club, he’s a big influence in the community, and to have the opportunity to work with him and the guys who did the artwork has been great.”

The Indigenous design of the Toowoomba Dragons shirt for this weekend's indoor cricket fixture. Picture: Contributed

Hansson said he hoped that this initiative would be the start of something big, with an eye to league-wide celebrations in the near future.

“They look unreal, and the team at Hip Pocket helped us design them,” he said.

“Six weeks ago we said ‘this is our initiative and artwork, can you turn them into both jerseys?’ Toombul were quick to jump on board.

“We’re hoping this might start a trend and maybe next year they could do an Indigenous round (across the league).”

Gibbs and SWIN played a crucial role in the design of the jerseys and was appreciative of the recognition for Indigenous players.

“Toowoomba is very rich with indoor talent, and a lot of Indigenous players have played over the years,” Gibbs said.

The Indigenous design of the Toombul indoor cricket team. Picture: Contributed

“It’s great that Katrina and Lyle (Teske), and Matt are highlighting and celebrating NAIDOC Week and paying tribute to our people who have come through the centre.

“The designs are unreal and hopefully we get a crowd out there and they look good on the live stream.”

The Dragons come into the contest in fourth, and Gibbs said it was a vital encounter to book their finals spot.

“It’s a big game, and we definitely have to win if we want to sure ourselves in the top four,” he said.

“In saying that, it’s going to be tough. Toombul has a lot of quality cricket players who have represented Queensland and Australia.

“With Lyle being out, we’ll need to be at our best and on top of our game.”

Fixtures get under way on Saturday night from 5.30pm at Action Indoor Sports Toowoomba.

The match will be streamed by Cricket Australia.

Lyle (left) and Jaidyn Teske at the Indoor Cricket National Championships for Queensland. Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images

FATHER-SON DUO’S QUEENSLAND HONOUR

INDOOR CRICKET: While it was Queensland’s time to shine on the national stage, a local father-son duo stole the show.

Toowoomba’s Lyle and Jaidyn Teske played a leading role in helping their home state completed an incredible undefeated defence of their Indoor Cricket National Championships title in Victoria earlier this month.

In what was the duo’s first nationals event together, 21-year-old Jaidyn produced a team-high 14 wickets for the tournament, along with a run average of 12.22.

Lyle described the experience as a special one for the family to share in.

“It was awesome,” he said.

“Not everyone gets to play at that level with their son and it’s another tick in the box during my cricketing career.

“Jaidyn was playing well enough to be selected and with my coming to an end of my career, it was good timing.

“I was obviously a bit more nervous than anything else, to worry about him as well as myself. But there’s a great sense of pride knowing what he has achieved.

“Jaidyn played excellent. There would’ve been some pressures and doubts in his own mind, but he performed exceptionally well.”

Lyle (left) and Jaidyn Teske at the Indoor Cricket National Championships for Queensland. Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images

The men from Queensland went through the tournament without losing, including a thrilling battle with the ACT that saw them prevail by one and two runs in the major semi and grand final respectively.

“The team played really well,” he said.

“We copped a couple of injuries late in the week and used the whole squad.

“The whole squad performance was the best we could ask for.”

Such was the level of play displayed by the pair, both have been chosen to represent Australia later in the year at the Indoor Cricket World Cup, to also be held in Victoria.

A multiple-time World Cup winning captain, Teske will again be there for the open men, with Jaidyn to line up in the U22s side.

“We’ll start our preparation for that soon. I’ve got a bit of a niggle in my leg so I’ll try and get over that,” he said.

“It was supposed to be played back in 2020 but Covid pushed it back.

“Jaidyn is pretty pumped. He’s on a bit of a high at the moment. He’s starting to play some really good cricket and has been rewarded for his efforts.”

Also a part of the victorious Queensland side was Gatton’s Jeremy Crighton.