After consecutive victories, Cricket Australia’s National Indigenous Squad is taking a break from the on field action of their Indian tour tonight to join the cast of Save Your Legs! on the red carpet for the Indian premiere of the film in Mumbai.
Starring Stephen Curry, Brendan Cowell, Damon Gameau and Pallavi Sharda, the film tracks a suburban Australian cricket team’s journey to India. The film is screening at the Mumbai Film Festival as part of the Australian Government’s Oz Fest activities
Vice-captain D’Arcy Short said the team is excited to walk the carpet and take some time away from their playing duties.
“It’s nice to take a break from cricket to join members of the cast at the premiere. It’s a story the team will be able to relate to having made the journey from Australia to India ourselves,” Short said.
“It’s a new experience for most of the team and that’s what this tour is about, exposing the guys to new playing conditions of India as well as off field experiences.”
The premiere is part of the team’s busy 12-day tour which has to date included a last-ball loss to the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai in a 40-over match, a six-wicket Twenty20 win against the Poona Cricket Club in Pune and a seven-wicket win against the same opposition, which included New Zealand international Dean Brownlie.
NSW opener Nathan Price has been the star with the bat, making 85, 58 and 87 respectively in the three matches. 16-year-old Victorian Bhodi Walker turned the Twenty20 match with 4-15 with the ball and Northern Territorian Dylan Fuller, 17, led the way with 4-46 in the 50-over match in Pune.
In a tour that combines cultural and cricket experiences, the team earlier in the week staged a cricket clinic with local children with Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Delhi and later presented the Prime Minister with cricket stumps painted by an Indigenous artist to officially open Oz Fest.
The team continues the on field component of its tour with two 50-over matches against the MIG Cricket Club on 23 and 24 of October in Mumbai.
Off field in Mumbai, the team will visit India’s largest slum, join Australian MasterChef hosts Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris at a special event and attend the Indian premiere of The Sapphires.
The Indigenous Cricket Development Squad comprises the brightest talent from the 2012 Imparja Cup, Cricket Australia’s national Indigenous tournament.
Cricket Australia’s Indigenous program is supported by the Australian Government and the Lord’s Taverner’s Australia.