It has been a century in the making, but the district's cricket community are invited to gather and celebrate 100 years of the Grinsted Cup next weekend.
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A centenary dinner will be hosted on Saturday, February 8 with special guest speakers including former Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg and former Australian rugby league representative Chris Anderson.
Australian test umpire Simon Taufel will also be joining the centenary dinner, while ABC sports commentator Geoff Mann will take the microphone to lead conversations with Mr Hogg and Mr Anderson.
Among the things Mr Hogg will be talking about will be his experiences playing for South Australia as well as the Australian team.
Mr Hogg said he hopes to be able to entertain during the night and will be talking about what it was like playing at such a high level.
Guests at the dinner will be able to relive some of the greatest players and games hosted over the last 36 years with the help of a booklet put together by event organiser Ross Williams.
Mr Wiliams said this booklet details the players who have taken five wickets or scored 100 runs or over in a single game since the publication of the book compiled by Parkes' Michael Greenwood OAM in 1984.
Mr Greenwood's book speaks on the Grinsted Cup's origins and the early decades of the competition.
The night will also feature an auction with some outstanding items to become available.
There is a signed cricket bat from the Australia / South Africa one-day series played in South Africa last summer.
A test shirt signed by legendary international batsman Brian Lara and a bat signed by Australian spin bowler Nathan Lyon will both go under the hammer.
There's also a shirt signed by the Sydney Thunder BBL team.
Tickets for the dinner are selling well with some 180 expected.
The centenary dinner is $60 a head and bookings by January 31 are essential.
The evening is being brought to you with the support of sponsors Frank Spice Nissan, Evolution Mines and O'Conner Case IH.
Phone Ross Williams on 0428 531 123 or Allan Rees on 0499 700 658 to secure your seat.
The weekend will also feature an exhibition match on Saturday, February 9 which will see eastern teams taking on western on the local field.
The western team will include players from Forbes, Parkes, Condobolin, Trundle and West Wyalong, while the eastern team will field players from Cowra, Young, Grenfell, Molong and Canowindra.
The exhibition match will be a 50 over match and is set to begin at 10am.
Currently the Grinsted Cup is held by Parkes who have defended it nine times after claiming it from Cowra in December of 2018.
Parkes will be defending the cup on February 23 when they face off against Young.
West Wyalong will make a challenge for the cup on March 1, while Forbes will make the final challenge for this season on March 8.
