Nine women and 11 men will represent Sydney Thunder in the Indigenous Festival of Cricket this Friday at Bomaderry, when Shoalhaven Council and the Cricket NSW Foundation co-host a day full of action at the newly upgraded Artie Smith Oval.
Decked out in the First Nations Round kit, already worn by the likes of Heather Knight, Marizanne Kapp, Alex Hales and Chris Green, the players will form the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teams.
Thunder Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Male Team:
- Kealen Blattner
- Damian Duroux
- Stewart Kapeen
- Jack Hartigan
- Riley Ingram
- Jaylen Mallawaratchy
- Angus Ping
- Kobe Ross
- Keaton Walters
- James Whiting
- Brayden Wilson
Thunder Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Female Team:
- Amanda Bellamy
- Callee Black
- Alexis-Rose Bridge
- Dharmini Chauhan
- Carlie Gilly
- Julie Muir
- Aimee Ravot
- Loretta Stanley
- Taleha Urzulak
The day will begin with a Welcome to Country, followed by an Indigenous youth cricket program that will make the game accessible to First Nations youngsters by combining cricket experiences with connection to heritage and mob. The clinic has already had more than 280 registrations.
This was the second of three similar Indigenous youth programs to be funded by the Cricket NSW Foundation around the state this season, with the objective of creating unique, holistic, and enjoyable opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to play and love cricket!
The Cricket NSW Foundation is the charitable arm of Cricket NSW and exists to enrich communities and improve lives through cricket by enabling access to the game for all within NSW.
The youth program at the Indigenous Festival of Cricket will be followed by a pair of T20 matches between the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teams from the Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder.
The women’s fixture will take place at 1.30pm, with the men’s match to begin at 5.00pm.
Jake Balnave, the Head of the Cricket NSW Foundation, said the Indigenous Festival of Cricket was a great opportunity to bring together different levels of the game at the redeveloped oval.
“The Indigenous Festival of Cricket is shaping up as a great day for the people of the South Coast,” Balnave said.
“Our Indigenous youth programs have been really successful over the last few years in engaging First Nations youngsters with a combination of cricket and connecting to country and we are really happy to be able to bring one of these clinics to the region.
“Then to have our Big Bash League clubs, the Sixers and Thunder, bring their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teams down to play a women’s and then men’s match is very exciting.”
Shoalhaven Mayor Amanda Findley describes the upgraded Artie Smith Oval in Bomaderry as a hub of cultural celebration and sporting excellence.
“We extend our gratitude to Cricket NSW Foundation for their commitment to fostering a connection between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth and the game of cricket,” Cr Findley said.
"Council is thrilled to present an upgraded state-level sporting facility for the Shoalhaven that caters to high calibre events such as this,” she said.