Aspiring scorer Luke Dawson got to live out his childhood dream on Sunday February 4, helping Cricket Australia’s official scorers during a Sheffield Shield match at the WACA Ground.
Young Scorer’s Dream Day at the WACA Ground
One of the most passionate fans you are ever likely to meet, Luke has an obsession with the game of cricket unrivalled by kids his age. But his biggest passion isn’t for playing, it’s for scoring.
His dream job when he grows up? To be an ICC official scorer and statistician, scoring at cricket games all around the world.
Luke lives and breathes scoring. His love for scoring started at the age of four, when his mum brought home a brand-new whiteboard to help her son with his newfound love. The whiteboard became a staple in the Dawson household’s loungeroom over the next few years, as did scoring any sport that appeared on their Tv.
Luke took an interest in cricket at a very young age, signing up to play at his local cricket club Warnbro Swans as soon as he was old enough to compete. The timing was perfect, with another Swans product making his name on the international stage……. none other than current WA Men’s and Perth Scorchers Head Coach Adam Voges.
From then on, cricket became the number one sport in Luke’s eyes.
On his sixth birthday, Luke’s mum Kim bought him a cricket scorebook, which Luke then used to start scoring five-day test matches straight off his television.
He would even score his own junior games, on a Friday night after he had finished playing!
In recent times, he has started helping the scorers down at Rockingham Mandurah Cricket Club on Saturday Afternoons in WA Premier Cricket, following playing his own game in the morning.
With Luke’s desire to make the most of his love for scoring, Kim reached out to WA Cricket to see if there was any formal scoring training that could be offered to her cricket-loving son. The best form of training? Sitting down with Cricket Australia’s scorers during a day of the Sheffield Shield.
So that’s exactly what Luke did. Sunday February 4 at the WACA Ground, Luke came down to watch Western Australia take on New South Wales, where he got to learn the ropes and pick the brains of experienced scorers Sandy Wheeler and Lance Catchpole.
Kim described the experience as ‘Luke’s dream day’ and ‘a day he will never forget’.