Proud Gunditjmara man Damon Egan has been selected as captain of the Australian Men's Indigenous XI that will tour Vanuatu in May.
Egan's selection headlines the 14-player squad which includes some of the country's most talented up-and-coming male Indigenous players.
The 25-year-old has been selected as one of five players in the squad who didn't feature in this year's National Indigenous Cricket Championships (NICC), however the top order batter has performed strongly at National Championships level in past years for his home state of Victoria.
His highest NICC score came in the 2018 edition of the tournament, where he dismantled Tasmania's attack to the tune of 160* (71) in Victoria's 97-run victory over their Bass Strait rivals.
Six New South Wales players have been selected alongside Egan, including Biripi wicketkeeper-batter Tyran Liddiard, Biripi spin-bowling allrounder Brock Larance and Dhungutti top order batter Brendan Smith.
The trio all featured alongside Egan in the Australian Men's Indigenous XI squad that last toured as a national squad in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast in 2019.
Following New South Wales' record-setting fourth consecutive National Indigenous Cricket Championships win, Liddiard said he held fond memories of playing for the men's national side in previous years and was optimistic about continuing to be involved in the program.
"It'd be nice to be involved in that again," Liddiard said.
"Representing your state is amazing but representing your country is just a completely different feeling.
"As a kid you want to put on the baggy green and you want to play for Australia.
"… and for me to be able to represent my country but also represent my culture at the same time is something that I'll cherish forever and something that I really want to to continue to be a part of."
Liddiard will be joined by New South Wales teammates in Dharawal allrounder Brynley Richards, who had a strong 2023 NICC with both bat and ball (145 runs at 48.33 and 7 wickets at 9.71) and Kaiwalagal batter Kobe Ross who also performed well in this year's tournament, scoring 154 runs at 30.80.
The men's squad also features Kamilaroi man Charlie Anderson, who will don green and gold for the second time this season after representing Australia in the multi-format Under 19 series against England last month.
Pace bowler Wade King was rewarded with selection following an exceptional 2023 NICC with the ball for Victoria.
The Ngyampaa quick picked up 18 tournament wickets at an average of just 5.06.
However in a surprising omission selectors overlooked 27-year-old Western Australian Bevan Bennell, his tournament-high 250 runs at an average of 41.67 not enough to gain him selection.
Proud Kamilaroi man Dylan McLachlan is the sole Queensland representative in the squad, his debut selection coming on the back of 186 tournament runs at an average of 62.00.
South Australia and Tasmania also have a sole representative each, with Ngarrindjeri and Yorta Yorta man Tyrell Sinclair and Palawa man Brandon Kopper rewarded with selection following strong performances with the ball at this year's NICC.
The tour of Vanuatu will take place between May 3-10.
National Men's Indigenous squad
(Name, mob, home state)
Bailey Toseland, Taungurung, VIC
Brandon Kopper, Palawa, TAS
Brendan Smith, Dhungutti, NSW
Brock Larance, Biripi, NSW
Brynley Richards, Dharawal, NSW
Cody Hoffmeister, Palawa, WA
Charlie Anderson, Kamilaroi, NSW
Damon Egan (c), Gunditjmara, VIC
Dylan McLachlan, Kamilaroi, QLD
Kobe Ross, Kaiwalagal, NSW
Nicolas Taylor, Noongar, WA
Tyrell Sinclair, Ngarrindjeri, Yorta Yorta, SA
Tyran Liddiard, Biripi, NSW
Wade King, Ngyampaa, VIC
