Photo Credit: Cricket NSW
With Harmony Week starting on March 20, Cricket NSW embarked on a unique mission to identify whether our organisation truly reflected the multicultural spirit of Australia and its celebration of diversity.
Statistics suggest that over half of Australia’s population have at least a parent born overseas or were born overseas themselves, and that Australia is one of the most diverse countries in the world.
It has been a great year for Cricket NSW. More children are playing Cricket Blast than ever. Almost 42,000 children between ages 5 to 12 have signed up to play and love cricket this season, which includes close to 8,000 girls, a significant milestone in our attempts to grow the game for girls.
Our Woolworths Cricket Blast participants show us the future of cricket, and it is looking bright indeed. At CNSW, over 13 percent of the children who sign up to play Cricket Blast were born overseas. True to Australia’s multiculturalism, over 42 percent of children registered this season have at least one parent born overseas with our Cricket Blast parents hailing from 130 different countries. The children themselves were born in 76 different countries.
Among parents born overseas, Indian-born parents account for a massive 27.4 percent of the pie, while the next highest percentage of parents were born in Pakistan (about 5 percent) indicating a distinct cultural shift among the next generation of cricket-lovers.
Among the Cricket Blasters themselves who were born in another country, the largest number of children born outside Australia belonged to South Asian communities — about 9 percent.
Those born in the USA, UK, New Zealand and Ireland account for over 1,000 children who play cricket in NSW, followed by children from South Africa, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Children born in Nepal, Bangladesh, and the Pacific Islands also made for a significant percentage of the players. Some of the unlikely countries our Cricket Blast participants hail from are Russia, Switzerland, Austria, Colombia, and Finland.
In recent years, the sport has become popular among Southeast Asian communities as well, as, despite legacy references and language barriers, children born in countries such as China, South Korea, Vietnam and Japan are registering to play Cricket Blast in increasingly greater numbers.
Currently, close to 3 percent of all Cricket Blast participants have parents born in China or Korea.
Martin Gleeson, General Manager, Community Cricket Experience, says:
“The fact that children born in 76 countries have signed up for cricket just this season is a testimony to the reach of cricket and our commitment to inspiring everyone to play and love the game.
“Australia is one of the most multi-cultural countries in the world and it is important that our sport is reflective of its community.”
Cricket NSW would like to wish everyone a happy Harmony Week! Cricket NSW’s Cricket Blast programs reflect Australia’s multiculturalism as kids born in 76 countries signed up to play and love cricket, just this season.
Sign up to play here – www.play.cricket.com.au
Name of Author: Cricket NSW
Cricket NSW, officially the New South Wales Cricket Association, is the governing body for cricket in New South Wales, Australia. Based at Sydney Olympic Park, it oversees the New South Wales Blues, New South Wales Breakers, Sydney Thunder, and Sydney Sixers.
