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Speaker 1: Joining us in the studio right now is empty Cricket

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Speaker 1: CEO Joel Morrison. Good morning to you, Joel, morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: You guys have been very busy. In fact, cricket here

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory seems to be going off.

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Speaker 2: There's been plenty going on, that's for sure.

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Speaker 3: And we had our Cricket three sixty five program that

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Speaker 3: was on for the last ten weeks. That wrapped up

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Speaker 3: successfully last Friday night with the T twenty final and

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Speaker 3: we had the sudden storm take that out in the

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Speaker 3: Great Game of Cricket thirty round victors.

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Speaker 2: And I'll tell you what.

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Speaker 3: If you're a cricket lover, there was no better place

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Speaker 3: to be than the top end over the past couple

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Speaker 3: of months because we've seen plenty of quality cricket. We've

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Speaker 3: got the local cricket season still running as well, so

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Speaker 3: it's been cricket NonStop.

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Speaker 1: Oh that's good to hear. And obviously Max, my producer

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Speaker 1: at the moment, he's here. He's been here for that

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Speaker 1: the T twenty strike Lake we're hoping. I was hoping

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Speaker 1: it maybe extended so he could stay for longer. Joel.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't think there's too much he hasn't gotten

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Speaker 3: involved in his When he wasn't playing, he was commentating

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Speaker 3: T twenty games. He's obviously here working with you, so

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Speaker 3: we're doing our best to keep him around. I think

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Speaker 3: we managed to get in the pivoties plans from going

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Speaker 3: back home to Victoria and he's going to go to

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Speaker 3: South Australia, but who knows.

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Speaker 2: I saw there's a couple of cases down there with

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Speaker 2: truck drivers. Territory is the place to be. That's exactly right.

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Speaker 1: But have you got a few cricketers who are who

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Speaker 1: are actually sort of staying here for longer than what

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Speaker 1: they'd anticipated.

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Speaker 3: We do. We've got five players from New South Wales

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Speaker 3: who understandably weren't all too keen to go back to

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Speaker 3: New South Wales given what is happening down there, but

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Speaker 3: really importantly for their preparation for the start of the

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Speaker 3: domestic men's season, they're still training and getting some match

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Speaker 3: practice up here. Some of them are playing in the

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Speaker 3: local premier grade competition and the others are training and

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Speaker 3: they'll be waiting to see what happens with the start

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Speaker 3: of the Sheffield Shield and the One Day Cup, and

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Speaker 3: then they'll lead the base themselves.

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Speaker 2: Here for four or five weeks.

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Speaker 3: Or once they have a bit more certain about whether

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Speaker 3: the game is going to play, they'll then move on

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Speaker 3: to play those games.

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Speaker 1: That must be good though as well for our local teams,

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Speaker 1: you know, to have that caliber of player here as well,

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Speaker 1: and training I'm assuming doing some of that training with.

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Speaker 2: The clubs too.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, and it also so it brings to life a

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Speaker 3: big part of what we're trying to achieve with Cricket

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Speaker 3: three six five, which was not just having high quality

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Speaker 3: cricket here, but market and promote the top end as

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Speaker 3: a destination, and not just a destination from a cricket

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Speaker 3: point of view, but from everything that the top end

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Speaker 3: has to offer. So they're not just enjoying the cricket,

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Speaker 3: they're out there enjoying everything that comes with being able

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Speaker 3: to leave you freedoms at the moment compared to those

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Speaker 3: around the rest of the country. Go out and see

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Speaker 3: the sites still with the fishing, plenty of golf being

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Speaker 3: played I've seen as well, but also plenty of high

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Speaker 3: quality training and matches as well through the local competition

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Speaker 3: and also the Cricket three six five program.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, and it is great, like it is great to

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Speaker 1: have people here have those different different caliber of cricketers

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Speaker 1: here at different times as well. How did you find, like,

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Speaker 1: how did you find the Strike league sort of went

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Speaker 1: in the end?

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Speaker 2: How has it been.

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Speaker 1: Having all of these players here and just sort of

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Speaker 1: I guess really, you know, seeing such movement in the

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Speaker 1: cricketing space, it's.

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Speaker 3: Been a really great development from a cricket point of

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Speaker 3: view because it allows our local players to have an

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Speaker 3: increasingly strong pathway to elite level cricket. In addition to

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Speaker 3: now being able to play local cricket on the weekends,

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Speaker 3: they're playing in what is the equivalent of a second

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Speaker 3: eleven national competition with some of the best young players

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Speaker 3: from around the country in their backyard at the time

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Speaker 3: they're playing cricket. So that helps our players, it helps

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Speaker 3: our coaches, It helps our match officials to progress their game,

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Speaker 3: to compare themselves amongst their peers, but most importantly, to

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Speaker 3: then showcase their skills to the rest of the country

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Speaker 3: when national talent scouts are watching the games ahead of

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Speaker 3: the contracting period wrapping up lely into the Big Bash

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Speaker 3: season or the domestic men's season, So it's really important

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Speaker 3: to showcase the skills of our players and our community.

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Speaker 1: Now Max have mentioned that there'd been some reports at

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Speaker 1: the Melbourne Stars and the Renegades are big Bash teams

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Speaker 1: committed to coming up next year for the T twenty

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Speaker 1: Strike League tournament. Is that true? Is it happening?

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Speaker 2: It is.

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Speaker 3: On the one hand, that was obviously disappointing they couldn't

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Speaker 3: get here this year, But on the other hand, it's

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Speaker 3: a vote of endorsement in terms of what we're doing

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Speaker 3: with the cricket three six five program that they've committed

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Speaker 3: so early to coming in twenty twenty two, so hopefully

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Speaker 3: we've got a bit more certainty around borders and the

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Speaker 3: COVID situation with vaccine racing rates increasing. But they've certainly

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Speaker 3: locked and loaded for next year, which is a great

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Speaker 3: foundation for us to build upon leading into twenty twenty two.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, how you said, Tom, Is it finals this weekend

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Speaker 1: as well?

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Speaker 2: It is?

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Speaker 3: Semi finals are on this weekend, so it's really starting

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Speaker 3: the heap up or sorry heat up.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, both outside the brickfield.

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Speaker 3: And on the cricket field at the moment, given the

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Speaker 3: weather in the local dew and cricket season, so semi

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Speaker 3: finals two day matches over Saturday and Sunday and then

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Speaker 3: finals the following weekend.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I've been told as well that Ken Vows

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Speaker 1: in commentary was talking about an NT Big Bash team

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Speaker 1: by twenty twenty three.

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Speaker 2: Do you reckon that's going to happen?

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Speaker 3: It's always good to have a vision. Some challenges at

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Speaker 3: the moment in terms of our weather, obviously, given we

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Speaker 3: have a wet season when there's the summer of cricket's played,

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Speaker 3: so really our big focus is building out the winter

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Speaker 3: piece and having this Cricket three six five program over

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Speaker 3: the course of the dry season, because it opens up

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Speaker 3: a unique opportunity for Australian cricket to take advantage of

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Speaker 3: the ability to play elite cricket year round South and

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Speaker 3: summer North in winter and that both helps us on

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Speaker 3: the international stage because cricket has now played three hundred

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Speaker 3: and sixty five days a year, but also helps young

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Speaker 3: players develop their games as well.

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Speaker 1: Season and I was wondering that, you know, with all

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Speaker 1: the cricket that he's being played and the phenomenal stuff

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Speaker 1: that's happening with cricket here in the territory, are you

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Speaker 1: seeing the uptake you know, with youngsters getting involved in

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Speaker 1: cricket of those numbers going up as well.

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Speaker 3: We've certainly seen junior numbers increase this year, which is

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Speaker 3: really exciting, and particularly over the last five or six

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Speaker 3: seasons as well, the local Dowen and District's cricket competition

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Speaker 3: has done a great job in growing junior numbers, so

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Speaker 3: we're hoping that will only now accelerate growth given there

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Speaker 3: is a really strong marketing platform to promote the game

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Speaker 3: of cricket, over and above the opportunities to play local

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Speaker 3: cricket on the weekends, all good stuff.

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Speaker 1: Well, it's wonderful. I think there just seems to be

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Speaker 1: so much happening in cricket over the last couple of years,

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Speaker 1: but particularly this year, and even though we've been going

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Speaker 1: through what we have been going through with COVID, it

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Speaker 1: all still seems to be forging ahead here in the territory.

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Speaker 3: Well, crisis always presents opportunities and certainly it's given us

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Speaker 3: an ability to get some traction and cut through with

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Speaker 3: the rest of the Australian cricket family, to be able

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Speaker 3: to showcase the opportunity that exists if we think a

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Speaker 3: bit more laterally, and certainly that's what has brought cricket

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Speaker 3: three six five to life. So we see this being

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Speaker 3: in place now for the longer term. It's definitely back

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Speaker 3: next year. We've got some high quality teams and players,

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Speaker 3: and we've got now fifty odd advocates who've been those

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Speaker 3: players who've been involved from interstate in the program. To

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Speaker 3: then go back down south and talk about cricket three, six,

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Speaker 3: five over the summer, and then we'll have the program

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Speaker 3: back up and running next year, and you might even

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Speaker 3: have your producer back.

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Speaker 1: Ma's back, or if I have a full time producer

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Speaker 1: by that stage, we might just have him doing some

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Speaker 1: other jobs here in the States.

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Speaker 2: Everyone always needs a coffee run occasionally. Oh that's right now.

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Speaker 1: He's been so good. It's been fantastic. And I think

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Speaker 1: that that's a really wonderful sort of side thing that's

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Speaker 1: happened as a result of having players here in the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory is that we probably have seen different businesses

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Speaker 1: around the top end have been able to sort of

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Speaker 1: have young people like Max go into some of those

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Speaker 1: different roles and actually be part of the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: community while they're here.

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Speaker 3: Certainly, it's had those plays here for the ten weeks,

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Speaker 3: and we know that the economic impact from that is

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Speaker 3: just over a million dollars based upon the hospitality industry alone,

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Speaker 3: which is great. But also, as you say, with Max

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Speaker 3: and the role that he's performing, that's a great thing

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Speaker 3: about the Northern Territory and the opportunities that pop up

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Speaker 3: for those who are willing to embrace the environment over

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Speaker 3: and above the opportunity that brought them here, which was the.

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Speaker 2: Cricket So it's great to see.

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Speaker 3: It's great to see Max doing so well outside of

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Speaker 3: the cricket field as well as on the cricket field,

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Speaker 3: and certainly there's been plenty of those stories across the

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Speaker 3: ten weeks with the players who have found their way

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Speaker 3: to go in a Palmerston.

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Speaker 2: That's really good.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I just think that sport does so much

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Speaker 1: for so many people, but particularly when you're talking about

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Speaker 1: young people and the different opportunities that it presents. So

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Speaker 1: it is wonderful to see that that's happening here in

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Speaker 1: the territory.

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Speaker 2: That's right.

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Speaker 3: It's a wonderful place to be and there's no better

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Speaker 3: place to be in the top end during the dry season,

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Speaker 3: and that's what we really want to promote with Cricket

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Speaker 3: three sixty five as well. It's not just about being

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Speaker 3: a great cricket product. It's about showcasing everything that's great

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Speaker 3: in the Northern Territory and utilizing that as a way

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Speaker 3: to complement all the other wonderful things that go on.

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Speaker 3: Whether it's the meeting and all the fish that's happening,

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Speaker 3: or it's a Darwin festival. There's so much on offering

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Speaker 3: the Northern Territory, particularly during the dry season, and we

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Speaker 3: want to showcase that to Southeast Asia as well as

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Speaker 3: the rest of the country.

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Speaker 1: Well, John Morrison, it's always great to catch up with

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Speaker 1: you mate, the NT Cricket CEO. Thank you so much

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Speaker 1: for your time today.

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Speaker 2: Lovely to be with you, Katie.

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Speaker 1: Thank you