Clubs collide in Australia Day match

BARWON Heads Cricket Club (BHCC) and Barwon Heads Football Club (BHFC) will go head-to-head today, January 26 as the annual match returns for 2025.

Hosted by BHCC at Village Park, teams will play a T20-style game with this year’s event also introducing a women’s side for the first time.

BHCC First XI captain and coach Daniel Donaldson said they’ve put a lot of energy into this year’s event.

“We’ve got the two games happening this year and there’s a few food trucks and we’ve got a couple of marquee players,” he said.

“I suspect it’ll be quite a vibrant atmosphere and it’s a good way to mark the end of the summer break.”

Along with being an event for the community, the match also raises funds for the Barwon Heads CFA.

Donaldson said the game is a great opportunity for the two clubs to come together.

“The focus of the day is just raising money for the CFA and bringing the community together and seeing a lot of people around the cricket club,” he said.

Although a fun match for the clubs, the game is not without rivalry as the two clubs share players, including Sam Shaller.

“He’s the footy club coach and arguably one of the best players the cricket club has ever had. He’s not playing this year and he’s taking the reins of the footy club side of things,” Donaldson said.

“He’s done his best to recruit pretty heavily, there’s a couple of players that are mainly footy players but are very handy cricket players as well, so there’s a bit of overlap there.”

Marquee players will also participate in the game including cricketer and commentator Mark Howard playing for the cricket club and retired Geelong Cats player Joel Selwood will add to the football club’s lineup.

The inaugural women’s match will kick the day off at 3.30pm before the men’s side starts at 5.30pm.