Community cricket passion runs deep within CI board

Numbers often tell an important story and that is certainly the case when it comes to the board of Cricket Ipswich (CI).

Eight members from the board and management team have played First Division cricket in the Ipswich competition, tallying a staggering 1152 matches.

That number is still climbing, with current board member and Laidley Mulgowie District Cricket club stalwart Chris Wilson chalking up matches each summer.

As it stands heading into the 2024/25 Jets Leagues Club Division 1 final, the group has collectively scored a whopping 26,068 runs, and have 891 wickets between them.

The impressive numbers contributed by Wilson, Mathew James, Peter Wood, Michael Hillier, Aaron Moore, Paul Newlove, Gerard Sippel, Darryl O’Sullivan and Brad Freiberg highlight the board’s deep connection to community cricket.

James, Moore and Sippel also have experience in Brisbane Premier Cricket, where they regularly played with and against Queensland and Australian cricketers.

This experience has been integral to the emergence of the Ipswich Hornets as one of the most consistent Brisbane first grade teams in recent years.

Moore has previously coached the first grade team to multiple finals, while James has overseen the men’s program that collected a coveted KFC T20 Max title in the 2023/24 season.

CI is extremely fortunate to have the services of Freiberg, who has worked tirelessly across the women’s Hornets program with his daughters Hannah and Keely loyal players.

Outside of cricket, the individuals on the CI board each bring a wealth of experience and expertise across many sectors, including local government, finance, sports administration, education, media and communications, business ownership and senior management.

The CI board will now enter a new chapter, with Newlove appointed president of CI until the 2025 AGM following Simon Emmerson’s resignation.

Emmerson, whose tireless work as president brought much needed stability to the organisation, has moved into the CI General Manager role.

“The Cricket Ipswich board would like to congratulate Simon on the work he has completed as president since first being appointed treasurer in February, 2022 and then elected president in August, 2022,” CI vice-president Mathew James said.

James also acknowledged the quality of the service provided by newly-appointed CI treasurer Abhay Dhir, a professional financial accountant / controller who also supports Strollers juniors.

CI is the governing body for all levels of cricket in Ipswich, with a charter to support and grow junior, senior and veterans community participation, as well as high performance  pathways.

Over the next few months, CI will profile members of the board, starting with Gerard Sippel and Michael Hillier.

In profile: Ged Sippel

Ged is a former Laidley District and Souths (Brisbane) all-rounder who now resides in Toowoomba with his wife Liza. Together they have three children who excel in a variety of sports, including cricket, hockey and touch football.

Ged works for Syngenta, one of the largest Agribusinesses in the world. He is currently the General Manager for ‘JAK’ Countries, leading a team of colleagues in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Ged reports into an office in Woodland, California (near Sacramento), and has travelled extensively throughout his 16-year Syngenta career visiting vegetable growers in many different countries

In profile: Michael Hillier

Michael is a long-serving member of Ipswich cricket community having played for both Marburg and Northsiders. He also represented the Ipswich Pioneers, Queensland Country Under 19s and Queensland Schoolboys.

Michael’s three children have all played junior club cricket for Northsiders. Michael is the Queensland Rugby League Media and Communications Manager who leads the media operations of the Queensland Maroons men’s and women’s teams.

He has also held media roles with the Australian Kangaroos rugby league team and the International Cricket Council, having commenced his media career with The Queensland Times in Ipswich.