Oohs and aahs as Glenn McGrath joins Pink Stumps Day

THE Outtrim Recreation Reserve was painted pink on Saturday as the OMK Cricket Club hosted its biggest Pink Stumps Day since its inception 11 years ago with 280 guests turning out to support fundraising for the McGrath Foundation.

The annual event has been growing consistently each year, steadily forming into what is now one of the region’s most successful charity outings raising more than $360,000 to date.

Organisers are hopeful that this year they will eclipse the $400,000 mark.

This year’s celebration felt unlike any other with a special guest appearance from Australian cricketing legend and McGrath Foundation founder Glenn McGrath.

His presence was felt from the outset as he spent the day signing autographs for junior OMK players, mingling with guests and tossing the coin ahead of an A Grade Division 1 clash between OMK and Imperials.

Keen guests began arriving at 11.30am contributing to a lively atmosphere that saw the marquee filled to capacity.

Event organiser Andrea Curtis said Pink Stumps Day was about raising funds for the McGrath Foundation.

“Essentially Pink Stumps Day is about raising funds for the McGrath Foundation and the role of the foundation is to get cancer nurses out to all Australians in need for free,” she said.

“So far 20 years in they’ve achieved that with breast cancer and now they’re extending it to all cancers.

“What we do here today at Outtrim makes a difference to Australians everywhere including locally because we do have local nurses as well.”

Ms Curtis said the event has grown a lot in 11 years.

“It started in the hall with about 80 guests and we maxed that out,” she said.

“We moved to a marquee for 200 then last year we pushed it to 250 and now we’re at 280 which is the absolute capacity for this site.

“We simply can’t fit a bigger marquee.”

The day featured many fundraising activities including raffles, live music, auctions and a panel of guest speakers who have personally been affected by cancer.

A Thermomix raffle ran early in the day alongside a general prize raffle and a major auction saw 50 items sold.

One of the more interesting attractions was the pink pig raffle where guests were given an opportunity to choose one of several piggy banks after purchasing their ticket.

Each piggy bank contained a mystery amount of cash ranging from a few dollars to potentially hundreds of dollars.

Marty Box helped set the atmosphere with some live music and the panel of speakers opened up to share personal stories of cancer survival, grounding the event and reminding everyone of why they were there.

Ms Curtis said the idea for OMK to host a Pink Stumps Day first started more than a decade ago when her cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“At the time her son Jake was playing cricket for OMK and he suggested the club hold a Pink Stumps Day,” she said.

“Amy White took on the challenge and ran the event for eight years helping build it into what it is today.”

Glenn McGrath also addressed the crowd, speaking about his upbringing in New South Wales and the role sport plays in bringing people together.

He spoke about his late wife Jane and her breast cancer diagnosis, emphasising that early detection and specialist care are life-saving.

“You realise what’s important in life,” he said.

“All the rubbish we worry about on a daily basis you realise it’s not important.

“But what is important are the people in our lives, our friends and our family.

“And in that respect I feel I’ve been very fortunate.”

Glenn ended the day by bowling a few balls to some of the guests.