style="font-size: larger;" | Crusaders Australia

Founded	1977
Website	www.crusaderscricket.com.au
Based	Melbourne, Australia
Club captain	Swan Richards
Club established for	Cricket Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

Crusaders Australia is a wandering cricket team founded by Robert 'Swan' Richards, David Richards and Ray Steele in 1977 who undertake annual tours around to help facilitate the development of promising Australian cricketers.

They have been represented since by more than 2500 players, in more than 1500 games on numerous tours to England and Europe. Current players to have come through the Crusaders system include Clinton McKay

Clinton McKay

Clinton James "Clint" McKay is an Australian cricketer. He is currently a member of the Victorian Bushrangers side and has represented Australia at one day international level. A right-arm fast-medium bowler who stands at 194 cm, he made his first class debut for Victoria in November 2006...

, Rob Quiney and Aiden Blizzard

Aiden Blizzard

Aiden Craig Blizzard is an Australian cricketer who is a member of the Southern Redbacks side. An aggressive left-handed batsman, his hit 89 from 38 balls on his Twenty20 debut for the Victorian Bushrangers on New Years Day 2007. His innings included 8 sixes. In 2004 he toured India and Sri Lanka...

 with players of the standing of Shane Warne

Shane Warne

Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...

, Paul Reiffel

Paul Reiffel

Paul Ronald Reiffel is a former Australian cricketer who played in 35 Tests and 92 ODIs from 1992 to 1999. He was part of Australia's victorious 1999 World Cup team. After retirement he became a First Class cricket umpire.-Playing career:Reiffel's career best bowling figures of 6-71 came at...

, and Matthew Elliott

Matthew Elliott

Matthew Thomas Gray Elliott is a former Australian cricketer. Elliott is a left-handed opening batsman.-Beginnings with Victoria:...

 also having graduated from the Crusaders.

The Crusaders have played matches in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

 and Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 in recent years. They have also played against prestigious teams in the UK including Marylebone Cricket Club

Marylebone Cricket Club

Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...

 and Welsh side Carmel & District Cricket Club

Carmel & District Cricket Club

Carmel & District Cricket Club is a team based in Flintshire North Wales who play competitive cricket in the North Wales Cricket League. They are also the only Welsh village team to defeat an international cricket team and have staged several matches between national teams at their Pen-y-Gelli...

.