HOUSEHOLD Cricketing names Brad Hodge, Gavin Robertson, and Richard Chee Quee have combined for an important cause to bring back one of the most iconic features Australian Cricket has ever had to offer – hitting the Mercantile Mutual Sign.
The trio is encouraging punters to get behind the campaign by using the hashtag #BringBackTheSign to let the Cricket world know that it’s time to bring it back.
Hit the sign gave the opportunity for players competing in the domestic one-day competition to knock the ball for six and should the ball hit the Mercantile Mutual or ING sign usually located at deep mid-wicket, deep cover, or long-off they would win a significant amount of cash – starting at $50,000 from the sponsor that would jackpot for the duration of the tournament.
Arguably one of the most popular incentives ever offered in any form of Cricket, the hit the sign promotion ran for ten summers from 1995/96 – 2004/05, starting with the Mercantile Mutual logo before it morphed into ING.
Three-time Victorian Bushrangers one-day premiership hero, Brad Hodge who despite being denied the cash and status of hitting the sign in Bowral back in 2003, was proud to put his name to such an important cause
“Nothing compares to the thrill of willow on leather, but the leather smashing a mercantile mutual sign on the picket fence was once the dream of every aspiring cricketer.”
When asked about #BringBackTheSign Rockstar from the band Six and Out and century making hero for New South Wales in the 1993-94 Mercantile Mutual Cup final, Richard Chee Quee said that despite the exciting and promising future of the game of Cricket “It’ll be bleak without a chance to hit the sign and win some cash.”
The man who put the A in Australia A and staple of the New South Wales Blues line up, Gavin Robertson spoke about the importance of the campaign “by using #BringBackTheSign, we can let the Cricketing world know that it’s time to Bring it Back” He also went on to add “We can bring it back in all forms of Cricket”
#BringBackTheSign is an ambitious campaign undertaken by three men who feel passionately about the cause and Neds who are willing to back it.
The trio also recently featured in a video celebrating domestic one-day Cricket “The Glory Days of the Mercantile Mutual Cup”
The Players who hit the sign
| BATSMEN | GAME | BOWLER | PRIZE |
| Steve Waugh (NSW) | WA v NSW @ The WACA 1995-96 | Tom Moody | $140,000 |
| Shane Lee (NSW) | NSW v Canberra Comets @Manuka Oval 1998-99 | Ian Garrity | $90,000 |
| Brad Haddin (NSW) | NSW v WA @ The WACA 1999-2000 | Darren Wates | $150,000 |
| Mike Hussey (WA) | WA v NSW @ The WACA 2001-02 | Dominic Thornley | $200,000 |
| Graham Manou (SA) | SA v WA @ Adelaide Oval 2002-03 | Kade Harvey | $50,000 |
| Andy Flower (SA) | SA v WA @ Adelaide Oval 2002-03 | Marcus North | $50,000 |
| Brad Hodge**** (VIC) | NSW v VIC @ Bowral 2003 – 04*** | Aaron O’Brien*** | $25,000*** |
| Graham Manou (SA) | SA v Tas @ Adelaide Oval 2003-04 | Scott Kremerskothen | $50,000 |
| Matthew Nicholson (NSW) | NSW v QLD @ SCG 2003-04 | Nathan Hauritz | $50,000 |
| Callum Ferguson (SA) | SA v VIC @ Adelaide Oval 2003-04 | Allan Wise | $50,000 |
| Adam Voges (WA) | NSW v WA @ North Sydney Oval 2004-05 | Stuart MacGill | $50,000 |
**Brad Hodge deemed he didn’t completely hit the sign in Bowral back in 2003 by match officials, however, the sponsor at the time ING offered to cough up $25,000 to charity after much debate if Hodge hit the sign or not.
SOURCE: Cricinfo and Robelinda2 YouTube