Some of Australia's most talented cricketers have travelled to central Australia for the National Indigenous Cricket Championships (NICC), which begins in Alice Springs Wednesday.
Following a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, seven men's teams and five women's teams will compete in the week-long T20 tournament for the prestigious national titles.
New South Wales will be looking to defend both their men's and women's titles won in 2020, with matches played across three of Alice Springs' turf cricket venues, Traeger Park, Albrecht Oval and Jim McConville Oval.
In addition to representing their various states and territories, participating players will also be vying for selection in the men's and women's national Indigenous teams, who will travel to Vanuatu to play four T20s against the Vanuatu national team in May, 2023.
The matches will be the first for the Australian men's Indigenous team since their tour of Queensland in 2019, a squad which featured current Australian test player Scott Boland as well as Western Australian contracted player D'Arcy Short.
Cricket Australia's Head of Social Impact and Sustainability Megan Barnett-Smith said the Championships continued to provide a genuine pathway to elite-level cricket for First Nations cricketers like Short and current Australian all-rounder Ash Gardner, who cut her teeth at National Championships level at the tournament in the 2010s.
"The National Indigenous Cricket Championships help to pave the way for the next generation of male and female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cricketers, and we are thrilled to have it back on the cricket calendar," she said.
"These championships have produced outstanding players such as Ashleigh Gardner who recently made international headlines in the inaugural Women's Premier League auction, and it is phenomenal that the NICC had an impactful role in her cricket development."
The return of the NICC coincides with the founding Indigenous cricket tournament in the Northern Territory, the Imparja Cup, which began on Sunday.
Now in its 30th year, the tournament has attracted thousands of Indigenous cricketers to the red centre to celebrate cricket, Country and culture in the heart of the country.
Previously a division of the Cup, the NICC is now in its sixth year as a standalone competition, forming part of Australian cricket's elite development pathway
However, participation in the Imparja Cup is still as strong as ever, with a Major Centres Division, a Men's Community Division, a Women's Community Division and a Schools Cup division also included as part of the tournament fixture.
"The Imparja Cup is a significant part of cricket in the Territory with a rich history, so we are delighted to be in a position to stage the 2023 event to celebrate the 30-year milestone," NT Cricket chief executive Gavin Dovey said.
"The Imparja Cup and National Indigenous Cricket Championships are the marquee events to celebrate indigenous cricket, culture and country and we are looking forward to another great event in the spiritual home of Indigenous cricket."
Northern Territory Minister for Major Events Paul Kirby said he was glad to see the Cup continue from strength-to-strength, 30 years after the inception of the tournament following a match between a team from Alice Springs and Tennant Creek.
"Three decades of indigenous cricket in the Red Centre is a fantastic achievement, and the Imparja Cup is a great way to recognise and showcase the talents of the Territory's indigenous cricketers," Minister Kirby said.
"Events like this help Territory players on their way to becoming professional sports stars and with the NICC in town at the same time, we'll also get to see some of the country's best players in action, which will further spur on our local players, and provide some great entertainment."
The Imparja Cup will run from February 19-24 with the National Indigenous Cricket Championships being held from February 22-28.
