Queensland’s cricket legends are returning to Mount Isa for the annual Bulls Masters tour, setting the path for more young players to reach the game’s highest levels.
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Jimmy Maher and Jeff Thomson will be among the legends attending the third annual tour by the Bulls Masters from Wednesday to Friday of Rodeo Week (August 10 to 12).
The visit will include coaching clinics, school visits and an award presentation to a junior sporting club in Mount Isa.
“These tours are what the Bulls Masters are all about,” said Maher, who is the managing director of the organisation.
“We know the importance of helping young Queenslanders reach the game’s greatest arenas. I’ll never forget being a young bloke in regional Queensland and getting cricket clinics from players we all looked up to.
Maher said Mount Isa had always been a favourite tour for the Bulls Masters.
“We’re really looking forward to getting back there to have some fun and to get involved with the community with blokes like Thommo, Ken Healy, Geoff Foley and Chris Simpson.”
The Bulls Masters tour includes:
• School visits to Townview and Barkly Highway State Schools and Spinifex State College
• A cricket clinic at the Mount Isa PCYC
• Attending the junior cricket sign-on for the new season
• Handing an award to the Mount Isa Vixens Netball Club
As part of the tour, the Bulls Masters will visit Suncorp Bank’s Mount Isa Branch to meet locals at a free community autograph session, which will double as a ‘sign on’ opportunity for the local junior cricket association, on Wednesday, August 10 from 3.30pm to 4:30pm.
The Bulls Masters, in partnership with Suncorp Bank, will also donate a Sunwise Tent to the Vixens to support their fundraising efforts and events.
Maher made the journey from Innisfail to the world’s most famous cricket grounds. He was a legend of Queensland cricket in a playing career from 1993 to 2008, featuring in the Bulls’ unforgettable maiden Sheffield Shield triumph in 1994-95.
Maher also played for Australia at one-day and first-class level, including a role in the 2002-03 World Cup triumph in South Africa.
Thomson remains one of the game’s most famous bowlers, taking 200 Test wickets in a career labelled by some as the most exciting in cricket history. He later coached the Bulls and remains one of the most sought-after cricket speakers in the country.
Chris Simpson will also be part of the Bulls Masters tour. Simpson was regarded as one of the most powerful hitters in Australian cricket during his career with Queensland.
Ken Healy hails from one of the state’s most famous cricket families. He made his debut for Queensland as a batsman at the same time his brother Ian – one of the Bulls Masters’ founding members – was forging a career as one of the game’s greatest wicketkeepers.
Geoff Foley was one of Queensland’s most versatile players, scoring 155 on debut against Pakistan in 1990. He was excellent with bat and ball, earning selection for Australia A in 1996-97.
BULLS MASTERS MOUNT ISA TOUR INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING EVENTS:
Wednesday August 10
3.30pm – 5pm: Mt Isa Schools Cricket Trials Barkly Highway State School
3.30-4.30pm: Mount Isa Suncorp Bank branch visit, presentation to Mt Isa Vixens K-Mart Plaza, Simpson Street
Thursday August 11
9am -10.30am: Spinifex College visit – Disengaged Students Program
11am – 12.30pm Barkley Highway State School visit
1.45pm-2.30pm: Townview State School visit
Friday August 12
10am-noon: Junior cricket clinic, Sunset Oval
1pm -2.30pm: Mount Isa PCYC