NY Kookaburras Honor Club Patrons at End of Season Event

Kookaburras Club Patrons (L-R): Jake List, Drew de Carvalho, Simon Hill, Darren Nichol, Michael Purcell, Matt Baden (not pictured)

The NY Kookaburras celebrated a successful 2024 season at the club’s annual end of season event at Ernie’s Bar in Greenwich Village. The evening was a special night for the club as the Kookas honored three new Club Patrons for their years of service to the club: Darren Nichol, Matt Baden, and Jake List.

The Kookas celebrated a milestone season for the club at this year’s end of year event. The evening drew the largest attendance at an end of season event in recent memory. Players past and present were in attendance. Present players regaled the "oldies" with stories of the club's thrilling journey to becoming WSL champions. The "oldies" took present players on a trip down memory lane, telling tales of Kookas feats over the years. It was a special night for the club as we celebrated a few special achievements:

Player of the Year - last night the Kookas inaugurated a new annual player of the year award, bestowed upon the club's best player in the WSL competition each season. Many Kookas had particularly notable seasons in 2024 (Rahul, Dan Cole, Sladey, Marty, Nick Kelland, Colebatch, to name a few) and in most other years each of those players would have been in contention for the award. However, the inaugural recipient of the award went to a Kooka who had a truly standout season in 2024 - Jack Preddey. Jack scored 436 runs at an average of 54.5 (including two centuries and two fifties) and took 26 wickets at an average of 9.1. 

Club Patrons - prior to this year’s event, only three individuals had been recognized as Club Patrons in the Kookas nearly 40 year history: Drew de Carvalho, Simon Hill, and Michael Purcell. Club Patronage is the club’s highest accolade and is awarded to Kookas whose contributions and dedication to the club have been so significant that we wouldn't be where we are today without them. At this year’s end of season event, the club recognized three more Kookas as Club Patrons for their service and contributions to the NYKCC:

Darren Nichol (cap #2) - who captained the club for approximately a decade from 2007 to 2016, working tirelessly over that time to coordinate cricket matches and off-field events for Australian living in New York. He was captain of the club when the Kookas hosted players of the all-stars match, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Warne, Tendulkar, Lara, and others.

Matt Baden (cap #45) - who captained the club from 2020 to 2022 before returning to Australia. Matt's first challenge as captain was navigating and holding the club together throughout the COVID pandemic. Matt brought the Kookas into the WSL in 2021, which required taking the Kookas from a club that played ad hoc matches to one that was playing league matches week-in week-out. 

Jake List (cap #48) - who has captained the club for the last few years. Listy has put in countless hours behind the scenes and has been the club's glue for many years. As captain, Listy oversaw the club's invitation to participate in the Philadelphia International Cricket Festival in 2023 and 2024 and stood-up to guide the club through the 2023 and 2024 WSL seasons.

Huge congratulations to Jack as the recipient of the inaugural player of the year award and Darren, Matt and Jake on their induction as Club Patrons.