Photo Credit: Cricket NSW
Across New South Wales, the Reconciliation Round for Premier cricket clubs and Community Cricket for the 2022/23 season will take place on February 11 and 12, to demonstrate Cricket NSW’s commitment to reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians.
Players and umpires of every club in the state will be invited to form a pre-match barefoot circle and organize a Welcome to Country to connect with the Traditional Owners of the land during the Reconciliation Round.
For Cricket NSW, reconciliation is an ongoing action and an everyday commitment at every level of the game. At the North-East Wiradjuri Cultural Centre School Holiday Program in Rylstone in the state’s mid-West last month, Cricket Blasters participated in a smoking ceremony and made bats out of wattle and then used the bats to play. After they played cricket, they went for a bush and culture walk and brought the day to a natural conclusion with a closing ceremony.
“It’s important for even our youngest players to incorporate the respect of the land and its people as a way of life, both when they’re playing cricket and when off the field too,” says Angus Norton, Cricket Manager, Central West, Cricket NSW.
Premier and junior cricket clubs across the state have First Nations uniforms designed specifically for the clubs and depicting what the clubs stand for. In a first for girls’ teams this year, the West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Cricket Club (WPHCCC) launched their cricket season by unveiling their new indigenous female cricket uniform.
The new jersey, unveiled by Sydney Thunder player Anika Learoyd in September last year — created by John Rennie and Miles Lalor, the latter of Indigenous origin — represents its club colours (red, white, blue and green), the players, the many locations they practice, play, and meet. It also depicts family and friends who watch and support them.
The dots of different shapes and sizes are reflective of the individual girls who play for the club. On the collar and on the back below the collar, there is a symbol for woman as the girls will one day become women. They will mature thanks to the opportunities that they will derive from the sport they play with similar minded girls.
The white concentric circles on the back right shoulder are two girls at a meeting place with that meeting place being a cricket pitch.
Similarly, Premier club Randwick Petersham has expanded the scope of its First Nations uniform from last year to make it one of their regular playing polos for the season. Charlotte Ryan, who designed the uniform, explains the thought behind the green unform with a blue circles pattern that represent the Dharawal people of the La Perouse area: “The circles signify the gathering of people, a meeting place, a place to share and exchange stories. The gathering of players and fans from both communities coming together as one.”
Ryan has also designed beautiful artwork to represent the Reconciliation Round. The whale is a totem of the Dharawal people and Ryan has drawn it to represent trust, respect and humility.
The Parramatta Women’s Grade Cricket Club (PWGCC) also has a beautiful blue jersey that represent the Dharug people, the traditional custodians of the Eora Region on which the club stands. Parramatta has one of the oldest clubs in Australia and PWGCC thought it important to incorporate the Indigenous design on their playing and training shirts that they wear all season.
The club reached out to Dave Whiting, an indigenous member of the Dharug people who produced an artwork titled Budgial Dreaming. The painting depicts the Budgial (turtle) which was a totem for some of the Indigenous tribes that lived along the waterways and was also considered as a favourite food source for theses tribes.
The Parramatta River was one of the significant waterways of the region. The dot markings in the painting represent the water ways that travel to the saltwater seas. Whiting has also painted the stumps with the same design, and during matches, the electronic scoreboard features the artwork.
All around NSW, Reconciliation Round is the culmination of the year-round activities that cricket clubs and associations undertake throughout the year to respect the land and the First Nations Peoples.
Cricket NSW’s Reconciliation Action Plan can be found HERE.
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.
