Less than a week after leading Australia to glory at the 7th Lawyers Cricket World Cup, talented batsman Dominic Tonkin is back representing clients with Peninsula-based law firm, Tonkin Drysdale Partners.
It’s a far cry from slogging cricket balls all over the ground in Hamilton, New Zealand, where Dominic wielded the willow for the green and gold at the two-week tournament.
Dominic was a key member of the Australian team who downed Sri Lanka in the final at test match venue Seddon Park on Thursday 9 January, chasing down what seemed like a strong total of 219 for the loss of just one wicket.
The Lawyers Cricket World Cup allows legal practitioners from around the world to indulge their passion for sport with a little friendly competition every two years.
Powerhouse countries like India and Pakistan have a number of former first-class players in their sides and go through a rigorous grading process to select their best 11 but in true Aussie spirit, that process is a little more laid back down under.
“There’s an Australian Lawyers Cricket Council that you have to be a member of, but beyond that you just have to apply and the committee approves applications based on character and playing experience,” said Dominic.
“There were a few training sessions before we left to bond and so we had a bit of an idea of which new players could play.”
It didn’t seem to faze them – while Australia lost to India in the pool stage, they upset the previously unbeaten Pakistan in the semi-final to book their place in the big dance.
“We kept them to 148 runs, and we were able to chase it down losing only four wickets,” continued Dominic.
Dominic scored 43 not out from 35 balls that day batting at number 6.
“Batting in the middle order behind some quality batsman I often wasn’t required to contribute much with the bat during the tournament. It was nice to play a part when the team needed it to get into the final,” he said.
While the win proved to be the cherry on top of a tremendous fortnight, Dominic admitted the social aspect is just as important and is a driving factor for why he hopes to return in two years when the tournament is held in Trinidad and Tobago.
“There’s a serious side to the cricket but the tournament has a number of functions and a conference outside of the matches for networking, continuing education and building friendships,” said Dominic.
“The motto of the tour is ‘Cricket for Friendship’ and you can definitely feel that”.
Within the Australian squad, and among the other nations, there were national and international leaders in their practice areas, as well as members of the judiciary.
“It was fantastic to be able to learn from these leaders in our field in this sporting environment”.
“I’m very interested in playing again in two years.”