- McGrath Foundation has announced major switch
- Annual Pink Test starts at the SCG on Friday
For sixteen years the Pink Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground has been raising money for breast cancer charity the McGrath Foundation – but this year there’s a big change to the famous match.
The entire SCG turns pink each year in honour of cricket legend Glenn McGrath’s late wife Jane, who lost her battle with breast cancer in 2008 at the age of 42.
Around half of all Aussies will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives, so the McGrath Foundation has announced it will no longer restrict itself to only helping those with one form of the disease.
From 2025 onward, the foundation is tasking its care to all cancers – with this years fundraiser aiming to sell 350,000 Virtual Pink Seats.
Cricket Australia boss, Nick Hockley said, ‘The Pink Test has always been a very special moment in the cricket calendar. We’re thrilled to support Glenn on this momentous occasion and continue our partnership with the McGrath Foundation to help them take their care even further.’
McGrath Foundation CEO Holly Masters said, ‘McGrath Cancer Care Nurses will provide clinical, psychosocial and emotional support for free to people and their families right across Australia. Ensuring greater equity of cancer care is our driving force and the Pink Test is just the beginning.’
Most Australians have a story of how cancer has touched their lives in some way, and the nation’s top cricketers are no different.
The McGrath Foundation, with the support of Cricket Australia, has announced it’s taking its care beyond just breast cancer (pictured, Glenn McGrath, left, and Aussie skipper Pat Cummins at the SCG on New Year’s Day)
The entire SCG turns pink each year in honour of cricket legend Glenn McGrath’s late wife Jane (pictured with the former fast bowler)
Captain Pat Cummins’s mum Maria died from breast cancer in May last year, and the cricketing legend has said it was the most difficult period of his life and completely changed his perspective on his priorities.
‘In some ways it really makes you focus in on what I think is important. It’s family, it’s enjoyment, it’s trying to find joy in life and I think that’s been a slight shift in the way I’ve approached playing and touring and it’s just given me that real decluttering mindset,’ Cummins told News Corp.
‘When you go out you just want to play well and of course there’s going to be pressure, but you don’t want to forget that what mum and dad used to say to us every time we went and played as kids, was to go and enjoy it. Try your best, but make sure you enjoy it.
‘I try and remind myself of that every time I go on a tour or play.
‘Whatever you choose to do there’s always an opportunity cost. And I think in the last few years that’s probably rung true.
‘That is when you go away on a tour you are missing out on maybe family time or moments. That’s a deliberate choice so make sure you are making the most of that tour or that game if that makes sense.’
Cummins has made the big decision to spend more time at home after his second child is born – even if means he has to miss out on playing Test cricket for Australia.
The Australian Test skipper is expecting his second child with wife Becky in January or early February, around the time the Aussies are scheduled to play two Tests against Sri Lanka.
The McGrath Foundation has become become one of Australia’s most recognised and respected charities, and features prominently in the country’s cricket world
Fellow Aussie cricketer Alex Carey’s father Gordon was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2021 – and the Aussie star is happy the foundation is now offering support for all types of cancer.
‘To broaden it to all cancers certainly will help a lot of families around Australia. Our family’s been impacted by cancer through dad and I guess the main thing we look back on is the help that he had and the support he had through that period from the nurses and the doctors. So to broaden it will mean a lot around Australia,’ Carey said.
‘(Dad’s) good now. He’s on the mend thankfully. With the uncertainty of what’s to come next, I think that’s where the McGrath Foundation is so special, not just with the medical side of it but the support that not just the patient needs, but their families as well.
‘You form some really amazing relationships with people around those times … and dad still speaks to a lot of those nurses and doctors that helped him in that initial period.’
