NT Cricket and our proud partners at AANT are delighted to announce the inaugural winner of our ‘AANT Volunteer of the Month’ Award is Des Irvine, of Palmerston Cricket Club in Darwin.
Des Irvine Named Inaugural AANT Volunteer of the Month
Des has been the curator of Palmerston Cricket Club wicket for the last four years, and this year he had a very short window to get the turf wickets at Cazalys Oval playable for this season, due to high rainfall towards the end of the wet season.
Des was seen on the roller, the mower, with the rake, broom and every other tool required; all done in his spare time after work and on the couple of weekends of dry weather he had. Both Des and his wife Chris even took time off work to scarify the pitch as it was the only point it had been dry enough in the last month to work on before another period of rain set in.
This mammoth effort during the pre-season allowed Palmerston to once again produce a quality pitch for the start of the season at Cazalys Oval and allow the club to hit the ground running when the rain finally eased off.
Des was shocked that he had been nominated by the Palmerston Cricket Club Secretary Damion King and was delighted when he learned he was named as April's AANT Volunteer of the Month.
“It was a bit of a shock, I didn’t even know I had been nominated!
“I look after the wicket block, nets and general facility around the club room and love the family orientated environment of the club.
“We (Des and his wife Chris) traveled around Australia for 20 years and spotted a caretaker role at the club four years ago and instantly fell in love with the friendships and friendly nature of the club.
“If you need a hand with anything, there is always someone there to jump in and help.”
Des will receive a 12-month Premium AANT Membership along with a $250 United fuel voucher.
Nominations are now open for May’s AANT Volunteer of the Month. If you would like to nominate a valued volunteer at your club, this month’s nomination form can be found by clicking here.