DUB Pies Hits Australia Day Cricket Tournament

If you’ve got any friends from Down Under, you probably know that today is Australia Day. In honor of the holiday, four New York teams from local Aussie establishments are competing in Big Cricket’s 2007 Indoor Cricket Cup at Chelsea Pier. They started at 8 a.m., and the matches will continue until 2 p.m. — and the teams representing Brooklyn are DUB Pies and Sheep Station. After the jump, DUB Pies Cricket Captain Gareth Hughes shares his story and explains the meaning of Australia Day (from a Kiwi point of view). Stay tuned for some fightin’ words from his rival, Nick Stevenson of Sheep Station!

Where in Australia did you grow up, and how long have you lived in Brooklyn?
I actually grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. Though I have family in Australia; brother in Canberra, mother in Brisbane. The “DUB Pies” name, as you may know, is short for ‘Down Under Bakery Pies.” I deliberately chose this name so as not to alienate Aussies by calling the business an exclusively Kiwi name – or vice versa (yes, I sold out!!). We’re actually trying to be “South Pacific” in flavor – not just Aussie/Kiwi.

What brought you to Brooklyn?
I was a corporate recruiter in NZ — in 1996 I was transferred to Sacramento, CA (1 year), then to Portland, OR (3 years) and finally NYC in 2000. I’ve always been inexorably drawn to NY for many reasons — upon arrival I felt most comfortable in Brooklyn. Since 2001 having received my Green Card I left the corporate sector and in the space of a year completed my NYC triptych if NYC jobs I tended bar, I drove a Yellow Cab, and I worked as a counselor for a leading non-profit assisting those that lost jobs, homes and family after 9/11.

Then I started my own business. We’re HQ’ed here in Brooklyn but hope to open a Manhattan location before long. AND most importantly – I have joint custody of my 3.5 year old son – who spends a little less than half his time with me and the rest of his time with his mother (also in Brooklyn.) Brooklyn is now my home – as much as I miss and love NZ, I have no plans to return. I want to be where my son is.

For our readers who are out of the loop, what is Australia Day anyway?
Being a Kiwi, I’m probably not the best person to ask. To be honest, I’d never heard of it until I opened a business making NZ/Australian cuisine. I do know it’s a National Australian Holiday, a celebration of all things Australian — it commemorates the day (Jan. 26th, 1788) that the British “First Fleet” arrived to “take possession” of Australia. It’s certainly not solely a day of sweetness and light — it does have its controversy and is also a day of huge protest in Australia by many people seeking to draw attention to the plight of the Australian Aboriginal.

Do you think cricket is going to catch on in Brooklyn?
That depends on what you mean by “catch-on.” The ‘West Indies’ (i.e. the Caribbean nations) have historically always been one of the world’s most outstanding cricket playing teams – and as you know – there is a very large and vibrant Caribbean community in Brooklyn – and with it a healthy cricket scene.

If you’re asking will cricket catch-on with your ‘average’ American or even your ‘average’ Brooklynite — I’m not sure. Cricket ‘purists’ prefer the long-form of the game (played over 5 days for 8 hours/day) but that’s unlikely to ever be accepted in Brooklyn (or the US.) However, I do think that the indoor-version (played in less than an hour) – the version we’re playing in as the DUB Pie Floaters – has everything that American’s/Brooklynites are generally attracted to in their sports.

With the right infusion of capital, good marketing nouse and with some passionate promotion – yes, I think indoor cricket could be popular in Brooklyn.

Do you think the DUB Pies team has what it takes to win today’s match?
There is no doubt – The DUB Pie Floaters will be the inaugural (2007) Australia Day Indoor Cricket Cup winners. No-one else will touch us, mark my words.