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International Cricket

Cricket fields in Australia will take a step back in time with a campaign to get local cricketers to grow moustaches next month.

Movember and Cricket Australia are making a national call to raise awareness and funds for men's health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men, during November, by registering as Movember teams at www.cricket.com.au/movember .

There is also an added incentive for clubs to get involved. The club that raises the most funds during the month wins a training session with a Cricket Australia contracted player and a signed bat from the Australian team.

Movember Mo Mentor and iconic seventies Aussie paceman, Max Walker, is supporting the campaign with the bold assertion that growing a moustache will make you a better cricketer:

"Does a moustache make you a better cricketer? It's a theory espoused by some of the greats of the games, AB, Boonie, Merv, DK Lillee and Chappelli, just to name a few," Walker said.

"So this November, Movember and Cricket Australia are calling on all community cricketers to test this age-old hypothesis and let the mo grow for the chance to win great prizes."

Another Tasmanian and Australian paceman, Brett Geeves, is following in Walker's footsteps this November by bringing back the moustache. After last year counting down the Top 30 moustaches in Australian cricket for www.cricket.com.au, Geeves is hoping club cricketers emulate some cricketing icons:

"You're going to look out of place without a moustache on the parks around Australia next month," Geeves said.

"Here's hoping that clubs join as Movember teams and players try to copy some of the great moustaches like a DK, a Boonie or a Merv. However, I'd also like to see cricketers take up the challenge to grow a Bruce Reid, maybe a few Graham Yallops, and perhaps we could even see a Dirk Wellham moustache out there."

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While there is a light hearted element to the campaign, there is the underlying aim to break the apparent taboo of men discussing their health. Movember co-founder Luke Slattery thinks local cricket fields and clubrooms is a great place for this to start:

"Movember is about doing something fun, with your mates and for a good cause. Using the moustache, the idea is to get guys talking about their health, and sporting clubs and fields are a great place to start these conversations," Slattery said.

"It's our belief that within every man there is an inner Mo itching to get out and, as cricket and the Mo have a long and well documented history together, we are hoping cricket clubs around Australia will bring back the Mo for one month and help us raise awareness and funds for men's health."

Cricket Australia is also providing Movember with the prize for the overall team competition that includes tickets to a Commonwealth Bank series match for five team members, personalised Commonwealth Bank Series playing shirts and a trip to see the commentary boxes in action. Last season, the winning team raised over USD 119 000 for the Movember Foundation.

The Movember Foundation is a partner of Cricket Cares and supports the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyond blue: the national depression initiative.

Super selector: Register, build your team and win Canon Cameras, Titan Watches and Flying machine gift vouchers