Photo Credit: Cricket Australia
The National Indigenous Cricket Championships (NICC) begin today with some of Australia’s most talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from across Australia returning to Alice Springs, following a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seven men’s and five women’s teams will compete for national titles in the week-long tournament in the Red Centre from February 22 – 28 2023 in the T20 format.
Now in its sixth year, the championships form part of Australian cricket’s elite development pathway with the aim of having more Indigenous cricketers represent Australia at the highest level.
NSW will have the opportunity to defend their 2020 men’s and women’s titles with matches to be played across three venues – Traeger Park, Albrecht Oval and Jim McConville Oval.
Players will also be competing for selection in the men’s and women’s national teams to travel to Vanuatu to play four T20s against the Vanuatu national teams, from May 3rd – 10th 2023. The tour is supported through the Australian Government’s PacificAus Sports partnership with Cricket Australia.
The NICC is supported by CommBank, a proud partner of Cricket Australia’s ‘A Sport for All’ Program, which champions inclusion and diversity in cricket and the MCC Foundation, as the NICC’s official Inclusion Partner.
As part of a three-year partnership with the MCC Foundation, the best players from the NICC will have the chance to take part in a training camp at the Melbourne Cricket Ground later this year, allowing them to showcase their talents on cricket’s premier stage.
Cricket Australia’s Head of Social Impact & Sustainability Megan Barnett-Smith said:
“The National Indigenous Cricket Championships help to pave the way for the next generation of male and female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cricketers, and we are thrilled to have it back on the cricket calendar.
“These championships have produced outstanding players such as Ashleigh Gardner who recently made international headlines in the inaugural Women’s Premier League auction, and it is phenomenal that the NICC had an impactful role in her cricket development.
“Beyond the boundaries hit and wickets taken throughout the tournament, the NICC is part of Australian cricket’s broader commitment to unite and inspire Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and non-Indigenous Australians to find common ground and connect through cricket and to ensure our sport is connecting closer to communities and to the oldest continuing living cultures in the world.
“We are very grateful to CommBank and MCC Foundation for their support of these championships and of Cricket Australia’s vision to be a sport for all that makes Australians proud.”
