By Ewen McRae
The Melbourne Renegades may have taken out this year’s Big Bash title, but a far more important T20 is set to light up Ainsworth Reserve in West Sunshine this week.
A fundraising match for the Abbey Solo Foundation will take over the oval and surrounds, with the foundation’s AbSTARS taking on a Victorian Police side.
The Abbey Solo Foundation was established to support families of young children with cancer, helping them with accommodation costs and support when attending The Royal Children’s Hospital.
Abbey Solo was a pupil at Mother of God Primary School in Ardeer. She died in 2015 after a prolonged battle with leukemia.
School principal and foundation president Gerard Broadfoot said the game was a chance for the community to get behind a cause that Abbey felt strongly about.
“She was a pretty special kid, and she fought that disease for about six of her nine years,”
Mr Broadfoot said.
“Her family were together that whole time, and she was quite conscious of families being together … especially those from the country, so we do all of this in her name to try and help out.”
The AbSTARS team will feature a mix of Abbey’s friends and family, staff from the hospital and Sunshine Heights Cricket Club members.
Women’s Big Bash players Makinley Blows (Stars all-rounder) and Emma Inglis (Renegades keeper) will also play and the event will feature a range of family entertainment around the boundary.
Play will start at 5pm on Wednesday, February 27.
