Triple treat for Aussie cricket team
AFTER a disappointing fourth-place finish at the 2009 Maccabiah Games, Australia’s cricket team is looking forward to taking on the best Jewish cricketers from around the world, and will accept nothing less than a spot in the final.
AFTER a disappointing fourth-place finish at the 2009 Maccabiah Games, Australia’s cricket team is looking forward to taking on the best Jewish cricketers from around the world, and will accept nothing less than a spot in the final.
Former Australian Test cricketer and five-time Maccabiah competitor Julien Wiener will lead the side and believes the biggest threats to their gold medal hopes will come from 2009 gold medallist South Africa, silver medallist India and bronze medallist and hosts Israel.
“There is a huge amount of weight on our shoulders to perform better than we did in 2009. Anything short of playing in a gold medal match is disappointing,” Wiener said.
The trip will be especially significant for Julien, 58, who will line up alongside his two sons, Dean, 26, and Brett, 23.
“It will most likely never happen again,” Wiener said.
“It’s something we’ve been really looking forward to and it means the world to us. It’s fantastic to represent your country.”
As an experienced Maccabiah campaigner and world class cricketer, Wiener knows what it’s going to take to win a medal, considering he has already claimed two gold, one silver and a bronze medal.
Aside from ensuring his team is 100 per cent prepared for Israel, Wiener’s mentoring role remains “getting the team ready to do their best and enjoy”.
A squad of 13 will head to the Holy Land next month for the games, including 12 from Melbourne and one Sydneysider, Andrew Coleman.
Australia will play Canada in the opening match of the tournament, before taking on reigning champions South Africa in the second round and India in the third.
“Winning the first three games will put us in a very strong position to achieve our team goal of making the final,” said Wiener.
The team will finalise its preparation for Israel with two sessions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground’s state-of-the-art indoor facilities and a talk from one of the world’s most respected cricket coaches, Greg Shipperd, while every player will also receive a set of cricket whites donated by Cricket Australia.
The full squad includes Daniel Bense, David Fayman, David Gelbart, Justin Kramersh, David Majtlis, Josh Sacks, Joshua Skala, Mark Soffer and Jonathan Zimmet.
AJN Staff
Photo: Peter Haskin
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