THE players at the first Bhutanese Big Bash have obviously been tuning in to the Big Bash League this summer.
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One colossal six, launched from the Wodonga end of the Noreuil Park pitch, was found an estimated 150 metres from where it was struck, right on the banks of the Murray River.
Teams from Adelaide, Sydney, Launceston and Cairns are competing in the competition, which comes after a number of exhibition matches in the last year or so.
Adelaide team captain Puskar Sharma Poudyal said to see Bhutanese cricket teams from across the country converging in Albury was heartening to.
“It’s very important to the community to have something like this,” he said.
“Some of the players have been in Australia for a short time, so getting into one of the favourite sports of Australians has been great.
“We’re an emerging young team with young boys who are hoping to represent their country one day.”
Getting out onto the park to train has been difficult for the Adelaide squad, but Mr Poudyal said simply being able to get together as a community was what mattered.
“One of the main things we try to do as a Bhutanese community is get together,” he said.
“We share our successes and our failures, what everyone has been doing and what their plans for the future are.
“I’ve been in Australia for seven years, it was fairly difficult at first.
“I spoke limited English, I had no experience and there were no jobs.
“But as the years went by, we’ve learned the language, we’ve learned the way of life here.
“It’s getting easier.
“Most people here are very welcoming too.”
Sydney’s Parshu Acharya said his club’s relationship with the Bhutanese community in Albury continued to blossom.
“It’s been great for our young guys to come down here and play,” he said.
“We started our first team in Sydney a year ago, and played our first few games against Albury.
“Now it’s a fully fledged competition, it’s really gone to the next level.
“Sport is something that united the Bhutanese community.
“You’ll see long-lost friends from refugee camps years ago are able to see each other once again this way.
“It’s given us this great opportunity to learn from each other.”
On day one of the four-day tournament, Adelaide defeated Cairns by four wickets, while Sydney defeated Albury by eight wickets with just five balls to spare.
The grand final of the five-team tournament will kick off at Noreuil Park from midday on Sunday.
