Photo Credit: Cricket NSW
The Cricket NSW Foundation places great importance on creating opportunities for First Nations peoples in cricket and is committed to an ongoing journey of reconciliation.
To commemorate National Reconciliation Week, we recount the ways the CNSW Foundation – the charitable arm of Cricket NSW – supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities through cricket.
The first ever Cricket NSW Foundation Indigenous Youth Programs were held in Orange, Newcastle, and Sydney last summer encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to come together and participate in rich cricket and cultural experiences. 200 high school students took part in the programs benefiting from cricket activities, coaching, and mentoring from many of our state’s best Indigenous cricketers, including Hannah Darlington, Annika Learoyd, Tyran Liddiard, Piper Hooke, and Andrew Gordon.
The programs were acclaimed by everyone involved and focussed on the importance of connection to culture and heritage, as well as cricket skills.
Indigenous Youth Programs delivered by the Cricket NSW Foundation serve the dual the purpose of giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people who have never played cricket an opportunity to experience our game, as well as a talent identification pathway for youngsters already playing cricket at a high level. Next summer, the Foundation aims to expand the initiative to include primary school aged children across the state, further significantly enabling access to cricket within our Indigenous communities.
An equally important initiative delivered by the Foundation this year has been supporting the NSW Female and Male Indigenous Cricket. Funds granted to both teams were put towards uniforms, travel expenses and accommodation to enable participation at the annual National Indigenous Cricket Championships (NICC).
Both teams put in outstanding performances during the tournament, and both reached the finals. The NSW Male Indigenous team, led by captain Tyran Liddiard were ultimately victorious and the NSW Female Indigenous team were runners up in 2023.
