New Delhi - Accompanied by members of her country’s Indigenous Cricket Development Squad, Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Tuesday attended a cricket clinic for the disadvantaged children run in Indian capital by Cricket Australia (CA) and a local NGO.
Gillard said: “Australia and India share a love of sport and cricket in particular and I am delighted to join you for a cricket clinic with NGO Magic Bus. Sport is an important foundation for life.
“It teaches us self confidence and self-esteem and promotes teamwork, cooperation and tolerance — values which we can take off the sporting field into our everyday lives.”
Australia’s Indigenous Development Squad is in the early stages of its 12-day tour of India.
Captain of the team, Josh Lalor, who presented Prime Minister Gillard with a shirt signed by members of the team, said: “The tour is a fantastic opportunity for members of the squad to come to a vastly different part of the world to develop our cricket and learn from exposure to new cultures.
“The clinic is a unique experience for the team and one that I know we’ll remember clearly from our time in India.”
The visiting team lost its first match of the tour on the last ball of its match against the Cricket Club of India at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai Monday.
Members of the squad will again join Gillard at the opening of OzFest in Delhi Tuesday evening before travelling to Pune to attend the Indian Cricket School and a match against the Poona Cricket Club.
The development squad comprises the brightest talent from the 2012 Imparja Cup, Cricket Australia’s national indigenous tournament.
a gimmick with the god…..