Barnawartha North Cricket Club
The mix of media and sport has worked well for Rupert Murdoch so after establishing Stand Tall Media in 2007, Stephen Cooke knew he had to acquire a sports team if he was going to emulate the media mogul’s success.
As successful as Stand Tall Media has proven since it was started, he did not have the funds of your common or garden variety Russian ogliarch so an English Premier football team was out of the question.
He knew Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court were probably keen to sell the South Sydney Rabbitohs after the NRL club’s shocking season but he can’t see the point of rugby league so he didn’t call them.
When he saw the Barnawartha North Cricket Club for sale on eBay he knew he had the perfect match and not even a last minute bidding war could deter him. Official Club Legends Tom and Marty Vana founded the club in 1989 to perpetuate the spirit of bush cricket.
The Barnies play in Melbourne’s Mercantile Cricket Association but chose the name after someone recalled a sign on the Hume Highway near Wodonga pointing to Barnawartha North.
The club’s ethos can be surmised with the tale of Official Club Legend Martin Vana taking a catch in the traditional Barnie nine man slips cordon while clutching a schnitzel sandwich.
Upon learning that, Stephen knew he had his team.
