Current and former cricket professionals made their way to town this week as part of the Baggy Blues.
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Rick McCosker, Chris Tremain, Steve Rixon, Phil Emery, Wayne Holdsworth, Trent Johnston, Matt Nicholson, Charlotte Anneveld, Gavin Robertson, Jason Krejza, Dan Smith, Trevor Chappell, Belinda Robertson, Nic Bills, Nick Bertus, Liam Hatcher, Sarah Coyte and Anika Learoyd were in town on Wednesday and Thursday for a gala dinner and then a clinic and Twenty20 match.
They were not only here to promote cricket but raise the importance of mental health awareness, particularly in country areas.
Rick McCosker, who grew up in Inverell and played 25 Tests for Australia, said it was essential for all those involved to get their message across.
"It's important for a couple of reasons, partly because we believe that cricket is very important in the country areas," he said.
"I guess the main reason is because we now partner with RAMHP, which is the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program, the State Government Mental Health Program, and we believe it's important to bring out the message of mental health, particularly in men, in rural areas.
"We realise that there's some pretty difficult circumstances for country people."
While there was plenty of laughs with some of the lighter stories, the dinner on Wednesday also night saw members of the touring party speak publicly about their own battles.
McCosker said the sportspeople sharing their stories was particularly significant in showing it is not always the "charmed life".
"As you heard from tonight, some stories of cricketers who have been to the top and been to the bottom," he said.
"So it's very important that we talk to each other and we ask each other, 'are you okay?'
"Just listening to one of the female cricketers tonight and hearing her story about anorexia and that's a problem for us.
"We have a 15-year-old granddaughter who's in a similar situation so the more people that get to hear about it and share their stories, the more chances we're going to have to control it and do something about it."
McCosker also said he felt "at home" being back in the New England region and catching up with some locals. Thursday saw a junior clinic conducted and then a Twenty20 match featuring some of the visitors playing in two Armidale-based teams.