Encouraging Indigenous cricketers

With the Ashes safely back in Australian hands and the first test due to start in South Africa this week, ANU has launched a new program to encourage more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to play cricket. ANU Professor Mick Dodson and Dr William Fogarty from the National Centre for Indigenous Studies, with support from Cricket Australia, will travel around the country to examine how Indigenous communities engage with cricket. "Our research team wants to find out how we can get more Indigenous people around the country involved in cricket, at both an amateur and an elite level," Professor Dodson said. "We believe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can make a renewed mark on the game." Enjoyed by millions of Australians, cricket is central to Australian culture and Indigenous Australians have played a significant role in the game's history. In 1868, an Indigenous cricket team became the first Australian sporting team to travel overseas when they went on a 47-match tour of England. But only three Indigenous Australians have represented Australia at a national level: Faith Thomas, Jason Gillespie and Dan Christian. In comparison, 10 per cent of Australian Football League and around 13 per cent of National Rugby League players are Indigenous.