A tribute to cricketer Phillip Hughes is extended at this time after his death having been struck by a fast bowl on Tuesday – he never regained consciousness. The cricketing fraternity is in something of shock - he did what they have all done innumerable times, face fast bowlers.
Phillip Hughes, the 25 year old played for Australia many times in all forms of the game and was the first Basil Sellers Scholarship Holder to wear the baggy green. The bowler Sean Abbott is also a Basil Sellers Scholarship Holder and Basil Sellers made the observation this young man needs special love and care.
Meanwhile the 29th edition of the Retired Australian Cricketers Bi-Annual Newsletter released 30 November once again illustrates the value of Respite for the cricket family. Cricketer respite has become a cricket policy with a fresh appreciation and approach toward future cricketer generations.
There has been considerable experimentation in recent years as to how best to handle such an on-field situation. Cricketers do get worn out, they can become prone to injury detrimental to their careers, along with cricketer families having dad away so much, and at the same time, cricketers do want to play cricket.
Cricket is the primary focus taking into account career, future employment prospects (coaching, umpiring, management, media, business, cricket tourism), and therefore every endeavour is to ensure these avenues remain open to them.
The kind of Respite that we provide through Well-Being Australia is based on how we provided it for elite athletes from the Australian Institute of Sport since 1992, and that is a break away from the concrete edifices of modern sport. For 14 years we served these athletes at Basil Sellers House in Moruya (NSW south coast) and since 2006 at Basil Sellers Tweed (Tweed Heads).
Published twice a year
The Retired Australian Cricketers Bi-Annual Newsletter is published 30 November and 30 March each years. It was initiated in November 2000 after my 17 years as the Australian cricket team chaplain. I moved sideways to establish Life After Cricket.
The editorial team continues to be Allan Border, Greg Chappell, David Boon, Kim Hughes, NSW and VIC Cricket representatives, with me as the cricket chaplain as publisher. Each State posts out the newsletter to their own retired Australian cricketers and current Australian cricketers and an e-vision is sent for those with email.
Five issues ago the format changed. It was initiated as a page of cricket news, and the reverse, my Chaplain's Chat, with an occasional guest writer such as the then Victorian cricket chaplain Barrie Sutton and the AIS chaplain Peter Nelson.
It is part of Well-Being Australia's "Cricket Family Respite" which is part of the Life After Cricket program. In 2007 I consulted cricket stalwart Allan Border to widen the Respite ministry from the AIS athletes and coaches to include the cricket fraternity. Together we came up with the phrase "Cricket Family Respite". We kicked around a few "name ideas" until this one gelled.
There was so much cricket news available across the breadth of media it seemed that this newsletter needed a fresh approach and therefore refocused itself to the respite ministry and the three available respite facilities.
Well-Being Australia provides Respite in Moruya, Timeout in the Tweed and now also at Laguna Quays (Whitsundays).
This 29th edition issue is a colourful newsletter hosting the Laguna Quays facilities. The respite facilities major sponsor Mr Basil Sellers AM visited this facility in August.
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children. Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html
