Cricket NSW Foundation
The Cricket NSW Foundation is committed to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to play and love cricket and seeks to remove barriers that exist so that everyone can experience the benefits the game of cricket provides. As part of that charter, the Cricket NSW Foundation provides valuable support for many of CNSW’s First Nations programs.
Imparja Cup / National Indigenous Cricket Championships
First held in 1994 as a Northern Territory community-based cricket tournament between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek, the Imparja Cup grew to become the premier First Nations cricket event on the Australian cricket calendar.
By 1998, Northern Territory Cricket helped organise the tournament and with Cricket Australia becoming involved in 2001, it became a National Championships between the States and the Northern Terrority. The lower divisions, club level games, continued as the Imparja Cup. The women’s competition for the Cup commenced in 2004 and for the National Championship in 2008.
In 2016, Cricket Australia launched the National Indigenous Cricket Championships (NICC) for the elite First Nations players from each state, while the Imparja Cup continued as a community carnival, with hundreds of talented Indigenous cricketers, coaches and match officials from different mobs around the country coming together in the heart of Central Australia to celebrate cricket, culture and country.
The NICC offers a pathway for talented and aspiring Indigenous cricketers from all States and Territories to showcase their potential.
Competing in the week-long T20 tournament, players can follow in the footsteps of Scott Boland, D’Arcy Short and NSW stars Dan Christian, Ashleigh Gardner and Hannah Darlington, who have all gone on to represent Australia at the highest level.
In 2024/25, Indigenous cricketers Gardner, Darlington, Anika Learoyd and Charlie Anderson were all contracted NSW players.
NSW teams have shared plenty of success since the introduction of the NICC, with the women’s team winning six of the first seven titles, while the NSW men’s team have claimed five of the tournament’s first seven NICC crowns.
In 2025, the National Indigenous Cricket Championship will for the first time move away from the traditional home of the championships, Alice Springs, and be held in Mackay, Queensland in April.
First Nations Youth Program
The First Nations Youth Program is designed to engage young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys and girls in the game of cricket. The program features a combination of cricket skills, activities and games, combined with the celebration of local culture and traditional activities.
Programs have been run across the following locations across NSW and as at January 2025 have had close to 1000 participants take part;
- Sydney at Cricket Central
- Orange
- Newcastle
- Gunnedah
- Shoalhaven
- Casino
- Coraki
The programs provide a safe learning environment for those who attend and showcase a link between traditional First Nations games and activities that are transferrable to the game of cricket. We have been lucky to have current players Hannah Darlington and Anika Learoyd join a number of the above programs, as well as NICC players Julie Muir and Roxanne Van-Veen, imparting their wisdom onto the next players to follow in their footsteps. We hope to continue to take this program to areas of NSW with high First Nations populations.
First Nations Coaching Course
The Cricket NSW Foundation, in partnership with Coaching Unlimited, held the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Coaching course in February 2025 at Cricket Central. The focus of this and future courses is to increase the number of accredited coaches from First Nations backgrounds across NSW, who will provide coaching, mentorship, and guidance to players from their communities. Creating more bespoke opportunities for First Nations People to learn and connect with other First Nations People is critical to achieving our goal.
First Nations T20 Cup
The First Nations T20 Cup brings First Nations players from across the state together for a celebration of cricket, culture and community, while representing Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers. The opportunity to represent mob and celebrate culture is a driving force behind the players who nominate to take part. The carnival has often included teams from other BBL franchises and been held at a number of locations across NSW including;
- Orange
- Shoalhaven
- Campbelltown
- Albury
To find out more head to the Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers websites