Issuu

a year in

COMMUNITY CRICKET 20/21

a year in community cricket 20/21 – cricket nsw

2020/21 A Season Like No Other

2020/21 Community Cricket Priorities

Customers at Forefront of Goulburn Cricket

COVID spreads Digital Change

LEYA WILSON’s WOMEN AND GIRLS INITIATIVE

Little Things Make A Big Difference – Moruya CC

Northern Districts Sensational Social Success

Infrastructure – Charlestown Nets Facility

SCONE JUNIOR CRICKET CLUB

Lake Mac Mens Social A Big Hit

Islamic School Girls Take Strike

CARL SHARPE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

Small School – Massive Community Impact

BBL Governs Canberra & Schools

Macleay Valley Cricket Association facility development

International Women’s Day Newcastle City

NSW Blind Cricket Team vs NDCC XI

Mark MacDonald – A Love of Coaching

LOCAL GOVERNMENT LENDS A HAND

SOCIAL WOMEN’S CRICKET GREATER HUNTER

WOOLWORTHS CRICKET FUND SMASHES BOUNDARIES

WEAR IT MAGENTA DAY

COACH SUPPORT IN HAND

SYDNEY TIGERS GIRLS ACADEMY

MULTICULTURAL CRICKET AT BAYANAMI

NSW WOMEN’S REGIONAL BASH

Men’s Plan B Regional Bash

BBL TROPHY TOUR NORTHERN NSW

NDCC Blowfly Inclusion Centre

A Year in Community Cricket 2020/21 was compiled by Neil McDonald, Fiona Penny, Clair Williamson, Jenna Purcell, Kate Jackson, Andy Meikle, Matt Ellis, Hayley Frasa and Sabrina DeSilva with stories and pictures from the entire Community Cricket team.

a year in community cricket 20/21 – cricket nsw

2020-21

OUR 20/21

A SEASON LIKE NO OTHER

priorities To ensure that Australian Community Cricket provided a focused and united approach to continued success in growing the sport, the 2020/21 Community Cricket Priorities were announced.

On the back of some wonderful work in 2019-20 supporting volunteers, clubs and the community, our staff approached the off-season full of optimism for the 2020-21 season ahead, however the COVID-19 pandemic continued to cause so much disruption to our way of life. Community sport, including Cricket, was not immune.

These priorities provided leadership and support to Clubs and Associations, driving towards an aligned strategy of success. The NSW Community Cricket team developed strategies from these priorities at Region and Area level to inspire everyone to love and play cricket across NSW and the ACT in 2020/21:

The planning cycle for the following season takes place between April and June each year in time to support targeted club recruitment during 3rd Term of school. The uncertainty around the pandemic was reflected in planning with contingencies factored in. What if we couldn’t support clubs with school recruitment? What if the season was delayed? What if a club or association needed extra assistance to get back on the park?

We will engage Schools to drive registered participation.

We will support Clubs & Indoor Centres to run quality Woolworths Cricket Blast programs that are open at key times.

We will support Clubs & Associations to embed the Junior Formats Pathway in particular Stage 3.

We will activate greater support for Junior Club Coaches in conjunction with the HP team.

We will support Clubs & Associations to embed Child Safe practices.

We will support Clubs & Associations in COVID-19 response.

In many ways our team needed to be nimble : • Many Club and Association AGM’s and Committee Meetings were facilitated through Zoom or Teams video conferencing. • The annual Country Blitz involving male and female players was conducted in a virtual world. • Coach education webinars and Master Classes were conducted on-line. • Club support including On-Line Registration, e-Scoring and Child Safe training seminars were also held on-line. • State Sporting Organisations and Cricket worked together to ensure season ground use was fair and equitable. We also wanted to ensure we communicated regularly with our customers including Schools, Clubs, Associations and Local Government to keep them up to date with COVID compliance and return-to-play measures. Through adversity, our staff involved in the delivery of cricket in schools adapted several resources to provide an on-line module for teachers to use in 3rd Term. We were also able to provide schools with digital recruitment messages for students. Despite the short recruitment window to start the season and flood rains to wash away some finals matches across the state at the end, we were enthused by the number of

2020-21: a season like no other

teams entering competitions, particularly junior girls Sixers and Thunder Cricket Leagues, the expansion of mid-week competitions and growth of Social Cricket. Woolworths Cricket Blast programs, the foundation of any club, also achieved strong growth, particularly amongst girls during the season. The CNSW Community Cricket team really do live our purpose of inspiring everyone to play and love cricket. We want to support clubs to grow and to be vibrant places providing customers with world class experiences. This ranges from administrative support to facility development and working together to provide competitions and game formats appealing to our customers. To the many thousands of volunteers who administer clubs or associations, coach or manage teams, score, curate or erect the nets to train for our sport in this most testing of seasons – thank you! Inside this Yearbook you will see a snapshot of the varied experiences and successes achieved by our team working with customers in NSW and ACT during 2020-21, a season like no other. Community Cricket Leadership Team

our 20/21 priorities

CUSTOMERS AT FOREFRONT OF

Goulburn Cricket D

espite the presence and ongoing threat of a global pandemic, Goulburn DJCA took a progressive step forward for season 20/21 in introducing a new cricket offering for their community. A stand alone T20 competition was introduced for this season for each of the U12, U14 and U16 age groups in their Association. To further the experience for their players the competition was played in coloured shirts and pink balls with some matches played on turf wickets under lights at Goulburn’s home of cricket, Seiffert Oval.

COVID SPREADS

digital change COVID-19 rules regarding public gathering

changed the way the cricket community operated through the winter and into the pre-season of season 2020-21.

The formation of the competition is a key initiative of the Cricket in Goulburn Strategy, a customer-focused and collaborative plan built by cricket in Goulburn stakeholders and Cricket NSW and first published in 2019. The competition was a massive hit with overwhelmingly positive feedback received from players and parents alike. The opportunity for young cricketers to emulate their BBL heroes was a big drawcard, as was the addition of Friday night matches to what has been a traditional Saturday morning competition. This added flexibility of Friday night and/ or Saturday morning cricket brought more players to the competition with many teams recording a swelling of numbers and interest. In fact, the concept was so popular in the U16s age group that players who had been previously lost to the game returned to bolster numbers and be part of the action. Congratulations to Goulburn District Junior Cricket Association on their innovation, a worthy winner of the CNSW Junior Cricket Initiative of the Year.

he Community Cricket team supported Clubs and Associations in the conduct of Annual General Meetings on-line through Zoom and Teams platforms and worked collaboratively with State Sporting Organisations, the Office of Sport and Local Government to ensure the cricket season started on-time and remained relatively unaffected by COVID-19. The pandemic threw up many challenges in lockdown preparing for the season including the need for QR codes, signage, training and match day hygiene protocols however our staff remained nimble and employed contingency plans to get the season underway with regular Return-to-Play communications to our stakeholders.

We also had to find new ways of getting club recruitment messages in the hands of students who were the only ones allowed inside the school gate across the state. Our innovative Participation Officers met the challenge head on with a first in Australian Cricket of providing digital resources of cricket programs for teachers to provide on-line to their students using equipment around the home or self-delivering when they returned to the classroom. The relationship built by providing these resources opened doors through the recruitment period and reflects well in retaining teams. Using the on-line platform, sessions delivered included Coach Webinars, E-score, On-line Registration, Child Safe, Community Coach Forums and the Country Blitz featuring stars from the Sixers and Thunder squads talking to students in regional and remote areas moderated by a Cricket Manager hundreds of kilometres away. Community Cricket staff were able to deliver workshops and training sessions previously managed face-to-face to volunteers in their own home producing efficiencies in time and resources for both staff and volunteers, something that will remain when COVID is gone.

a year in community cricket 20/21 – cricket nsw

CRICKET AUSTRALIA VOLUNTEER AWARD WINNER LEYA WILSON’S

Women & Girls Initiative

LITTLE THINGS CAN

Make A Big Difference

Leya Wilson has been a driving influence behind Newcastle Junior Cricket Association (NJCA), chairing the Girl’s sub-committee through the challenging COVID period.

eya instigated an offseason survey to all female players in the NJCA and the results were considered and implemented, leading to tremendous growth in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region. NJCA competitions increased to a remarkable 28 teams in season 20/21, a growth of 216% (13 teams in season 19/20). 26 teams competed in all-girls mid-week twilight leagues, and two all-girls teams played in the under 12 competition on Saturday mornings. In addition to her work for the association, Leya supported her own club Charlestown Juniors, resulting in their girl’s teams increasing from just one in 2019/20 to six in 2020/21. She was also successful in receiving a $10k grant from the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 Cricket Legacy Fund, taking the opportunity to arrange girls only training sessions and specialist coaching. Leya was also instrumental in assisting the club to obtain facility grants and they have constructed new synthetic training facilities lanes alongside the senior club to allow a safe place for girls to train. The remarkable thing about Leya is that she is completely focused on the big picture of growing girls across the region, not just her own club. Leya is working with all local clubs to achieve this goal, generously sharing her time, insights and placing girls with clubs in their local area when enquiries are received through the sub-committee. • L eya developed a relationship with two high schools in cricket club catchment area who assisted to create a second Charlestown team in the Stage Two girls midweek Cricket League.

a year in community cricket 20/21 – cricket nsw

• Leya set up and chaired a structured girls sub-committee within the NJCA. • L eya surveyed all players in the off season and instigated changes leading to massive growth. Previously the NJCA had only offered Stage One all-girls leagues. The results of the survey led to the creation of a strategy to run the first ever Stage Two girl’s midweek competition, attracting four teams in Term 4, and growing to 6 teams in Term 1. Additionally, Stage One competitions were moved to Saturday mornings which created a tremendous growth from last season - 12 girls’ teams in 2019/20 grew to 16 in season 2020/21. By popular demand, the girls wore cricket equipment for the first time, rather than playing with a soft ball. • I n summary, Leya created two different offerings – Stage One (Saturday) and Stage Two (Midweek) - of all-girl’s cricket leagues in Newcastle for the first time which increased girls’ individual registrations in all NJCA junior competitions to 375. • Leya personally designed flyers promoting cricket as a Sport for All, then visited and provided flyers to high school girls Gala Days to promote the girl’s competitions in the NJCA. • Leya organised and ran a girl’s festival day which was captured by NBN televison and Newcastle Herald media for Saturday morning cricket. • Leya provided regular communication and updates to all girls’ parents across the whole region because she was aware of how important this was to ensure a positive experience to not only grow girls cricket but retain players into the future. • Leya promoted directly to other girl’s winter sports in the area to join all-girls cricket leagues with their friendship groups.

One of the strategic outcomes from this process was the desire to establish a junior cricket program in Moruya.

oruya is a coastal township on the Far South Coast of NSW. With a population of just over 4,000 people, the town has not had any formal cricket involvement for several years. In fact, the only cricket pitch in town, located at Gundary Oval, was covered over by Eurobodalla Shire a few years back due to its lack of use. Moruya CC also went into recession 10 years ago and have not come back. The nearest club, at Tuross Head, has only fielded a C Grade senior team in the Far South Coast DCA for the past few years and they also went into recession at the end of last season. That’s the recent history, but it’s the future that is looking much more appealing with the delivery of a new Woolworths Cricket Blast program which commenced at Gundary Oval on 24 February. The program, a joint partnership between Cricket NSW, Eurobodalla Shire and the Woolworths Community Fund, had 18 participants registered and, if the response from participants and parents is anything to go by, cricket’s rebirth in town is just beginning. The program has been delivered by CNSW Development Officer Shanon Small with a group of parents also volunteering and helping out. Martin Gleeson, Cricket NSW Area Manager Southern NSW/ ACT, views the commencement of the program as a big cricketing step forward for the town. “18 months ago we launched a strategic process with Eurobodalla Shire and its three cricket clubs to establish a plan to help grow cricket and support the clubs across the Shire,” he said.

“One of the strategic outcomes from this process was the desire to establish a junior cricket program in Moruya for the local community. It is exciting to see this now come to fruition. Ultimately, we want to re-establish a junior cricket team in the town and we are calling on the support of the community and interested parents to help us in setting this up over the coming months in time for next season.” The Woolworths Cricket Blast program is the first step in this process and to get such a strong response from the community shows that there is local interest. The WBBL and BBL continue to grow in prominence and the strong TV ratings from the massive summer of cricket just completed shows that the next generation of cricketers are being inspired to take up a bat and ball and get involved. Mathew Neason, Eurobodalla Shire Council Recreation Development Coordinator, sees the successful launch of the Cricket Blast program as a great first step in rejuvenating cricket in Moruya. “Working with Cricket NSW and our local clubs we think we have a clear roadmap for the growth of cricket in Eurobodalla. Establishing Cricket Blast in Moruya was a key part of that plan. I really want to thank Cricket NSW for their commitment to re-establish Cricket in Moruya and being the key drivers in pulling this program together” he said. Like most of the Far South Coast the Moruya community has had a very difficult 12 months with the devastating bushfires followed by the COVID pandemic. Sport plays such a crucial role in the community, even more so in tough times and it’s hoped that this initiative leads to one, or more Moruya cricket teams being formalised next season. a year in community cricket 20/21 – cricket nsw

Northern District’s SENSATIONAL SOCIAL CRICKET

ntering its second season, Social Women’s Cricket, in partnership with Northern District CC, did not disappoint. Growing to an incredible 104 registrations this season, the program had an amazing atmosphere every week. In this participant-driven initiative there was a clear focus on two key themes – to give women some ‘me time’ back into their busy weeks and to ‘get them on the other side of the fence’ and participating in the game that they have watched and supported for so long. Each session started with a 15 minute skills session to warm up, followed by an 8-a-side Master Blaster style game where participants enjoyed the participation focus and lack of need for cricket experience. After each session teams were encouraged to bring a picnic blanket to enjoy cheese and wine with their teammates and others after the game. Focused on reducing barriers to participation, the program used a soft ball, was played at a convenient time and location, fairly priced and focused on equal participation for all.

CHARLESTOWN NET FACILITY

of my week and such a great way to switch off, meet people and have fun! Thanks sooooo much!”- Katrina ”Hi Daniel, Just wanted to say thank you so much for organising Social Women’s Cricket. It has been so much fun! As a mum of three kids under four it has been great to get out, have some me time and play some cricket with new and old friends.” - Haley ”Hi Daniel, I just wanted to say thank you for such a fun cricket season. Our team had an absolute ball. I think you guys are doing a great job and we are looking forward to next season. Thanks again for making it such a success.” - Jenny A big thank you to the Northern District Cricket Club and Hornsby Council for allowing us to use their outstanding facilities at Mark Taylor Oval each week. We can’t wait to see the program continue to grow and develop in future seasons.

The program had a widespread impact on participants, their families and the wider community as can be seen in the following testimonials: ”Absolutely and TOTALLY loving this! I never expected to like cricket, and still am pretty clueless what I am doing, but it’s the highlight

“Hi Daniel, Just wanted to say thank you

so much for organising Social Women’s Cricket. It has been so much fu n!”

The opening of a new practice facility in Charlestown Lake Macquarie, is te stimony to what collaboration, Cricket NSW & Government support can deliver .

harlestown Junior Cricket Club and Charlestown District Cricket Club were single entities with finance and an idea to build practice nets for their members.

Enter Cricket Manager Tim Cox who, with the support of our Greater Hunter team, was able to connect the clubs, discuss pooling club funds, seeking out funding opportunities and eventually landing both projects on the same field – effectively providing a training hub or home for members of both clubs. The Charlestown Cricket Training Facility utilised a combination of Federal Government grants, ICC T20 World Cup 2020 Cricket Legacy Fund through the State Government, ACIF, Cricket NSW, private and in-kind contributions from both clubs. The total cost of the project was $567,000. The 13-lane complex has both synthetic lanes and natural turf square with retractable netting. The synthetic pitches feature junior format markings and is fully enclosed measuring 37m in length by 50m wide. The site needed a whopping 800 cubic metres of fill to level the site, the turf wicket table has 95 cubic metres of Redbank wicket soil with 780 square metres of Legend Couch turf laid. Added to this is the installation of a fully automated irrigation system with drainage. The result is one big facility for both Junior boys and girls and senior men and women to train alongside each other creating a clear pathway for aspiring cricketers and improvements in retention. Senior players will also benefit from the ability to assist in coaching and mentoring junior players at the same site. The project was managed by Steve Mace from Mace Building, the Design by Andrew Wilson from Bolster Designs, with financial support from Andrew Frith from Leenane Templeton and Lake Macquarie Council.

a year in community cricket 20/21 – cricket nsw

Scone Junior Cricket Club

SENSATIONAL CNSW VOLUNTEER CLUB AWARD 2020-21

lake mac social A BIG HIT

Against the backdrop of picturesque Lake Macquarie a men’s T20 Social League was launched and played over 8 weeks during Summer. Spurred on by the success of the Newcastle pilot competition a year earlier, ten teams were registered in no time, full of players who did not want to play ‘all day’ or had not played since they were teenagers. Played on a mix of turf and synthetic on Sunday mornings, the emphasis on social was underlined by plenty of laughs, friendly banter, big hitting and some wonderful ‘speckie’ catches being taken in the outfield. There were a number of departures from the traditional game to speed up the action and allow players and spectators to enjoy the game including: • Online registration and payment • 9 players per team • A ball count for batters • 10 overs bowled from one end before swapping ends • Umpires who e-Scored matches • Multiple matches back-to-back maximising ground use Players were surveyed during the season about their experience with 75% saying they had not played for 5+ years and that the main reasons they registered were:• Short 8-week season • Quick game time (2 hours)

he town of Scone nestled in the Upper Hunter has a steady population of 6000 servicing the equine industry, agriculture, and mining sectors. The town has a proud sporting history in all codes with volunteers traversing between winter and summer sports including Cricket. Scone Junior Cricket Club teams play in the Upper Hunter JCA competition drawing participants from a very wide area encompassing the remote rural communities of Rouchel, Belltrees, Middlebrook, Gundy and Ellerston. They have also formed a partnership with the small village of Murrurundi to with Scone by providing them with extra players to make up teams. For many years, Scone has been one of the leading clubs in the Hunter embracing Woolworths Junior and Master Blaster Entry Level Programs to grow their club with over 50 registered participants signing up this year. In 2019-20 working with Cricket Manager Gary Fisher and our Greater Hunter team, Scone established a Sixers Girls Cricket League through a school-to-club transition initiative which saw the club add six female teams, a 40% growth of participants. The club also ran a Sixers Women’s Social League on Friday evenings attracting over 40 female participants.

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a year in community cricket 20/21 – cricket nsw

• Maximum involvement, no sitting around The club has a small but enthusiastic group of volunteers headed by President Darren Crowther. They were early adopters of e-Scoring with 100% of games live scored on i-pads provided to each team. The club has also sought financial sponsors for every junior team allowing the club to keep their fees very low and removes the barrier of cost for many who may not otherwise be able to afford registration. They also provide playing equipment for junior player use.

Food for thought for any senior association looking to grow the game.

Scone have been through a lot over the past 18 months from devastating drought, to poor air quality, bushfires, heat and floods yet cricket has stood above this and provided an outlet for the community to forget its struggles for a short period and enjoy our great game. This is an inspiring and inclusive story demonstrating that you don’t have to be big to make an enormous impact in the local community and a worthy recipient of the Cricket NSW Volunteer Club Award for 2019-20.

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Islamic School Girls Take Strike

SYDNEY THUNDER – HOMEWORLD INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY Malek Fahd Islamic School is the largest coeducational independent Islamic school in NSW, with three campuses across greater Sydney. The SNWCC team formed an 8 week, girls only Health & PE (H&PE) Program for 80 female secondary school students. The participants spent the term developing an arsenal of cricket skills and learning about the health benefits of staying active. From this program and the strong relationship formed with the school the girls were invited to participate in the Sydney Thunder – Homeworld International Women’s Gala Day held at Blacktown International Sports Park. On the day the girls had the opportunity to play some Woolworths Cricket Blast and attend a Q&A session with Saskia Horley from Sydney Thunder and Leah Poulton, former NSW Breaker and Australian opening batter and now Head of Female Cricket at CNSW. What an amazing experience for all involved!

Carl Sharpe

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE The Carl Sharpe Cricket Centre in Orange was a collaboration between Cricket NSW, Cricket Australia, the NSW state government, Orange Council, and Orange Cricket. With contributions of $200K from both Cricket NSW and Cricket Australia, $1 million from the state government and Orange City Council contributing approximately $2million this truly was an example of all interested parties working together to deliver a world class facility for cricketers in the Central West of NSW. This was a four-year project from the early planning stages through to the completion of the centre in 2020. The Carl Sharpe Cricket Centre is now the Cricket NSW office in the Central West region, the only Indoor Sports Centre in the Central West region, and a hub for high performance cricket in Western Zone. All clubs in the ODJCA and ODCA have access to the facility for training. Furthermore, the junior representative sides in the area also have access to the first-class facility. Plans are already in place with the local associations working together to launch Orange’s first Indoor Cricket competition this winter.

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a year in community cricket 20/21 – cricket nsw

Small School, Massive Community Impact THE GERRINGONG PUBLIC SCHOOL STORY

A small-town school’s journey along the road to a WHOLELISTIC school for CRICKET! Gerringong Public School were previously engaged sporadically in cricket prior to 2019. Then they began to explore the possibility of creating a girl’s knockout cricket team, something they had not done before. The school reached out to the local CNSW Community Cricket team to assist in a delivery process that increased cricket engagement for their students and from this they were able to recruit their first ever girls knockout cricket team that year. With the success of 2019 fresh in their minds, 2020 saw Gerringong Public School engaged in the Illawarra School-to-Club link program and this is where the magic started for 470 students and cricket at Gerringong Public School. Through Ms Chapman, Gerringong Public School committed to engage in all Community Cricket School suite of programs – Mascot Challenge (K-2), HPE Program (Stage 2 & 3) and an Intra-School Cup (Stage 2 & 3). In doing so, Gerringong Public School managed to create a WHOLE of school cricket experience for their students. Gerringong Public School encouraged and allowed Community cricket staff and Gerringong Cricket Club representatives access to the students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The school allowed the Gerringong Cricket Club to attach their Woolworths Cricket Blast banner on the school fence in full view of parent’s dropoff area. During cricket programs run for each Stage, Gerringong Cricket Club provided club hats, shirts and shorts to students. A club flyer was provided to distribute as well as the school placing it in their newsletter on several occasions creating a strong link with the cricket club. Gerringong Public School also involved their Stage 2&3 students in CNSW 2020 virtual Country Blitz where they appeared on Sydney Thunder’s social media with great delight, singing Happy Birthday to Jason Sangha. The commitment of Ms Chapman and Gerringong Public School to engage in CNSW school programs and the Illawarra School-to-Club Link Program with Gerringong Cricket Club contributed significantly to the club’s increase in Cricket Blast registrations by a whopping 238.5%.

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“It is great that our premier cricket products like the men’s in ternationals &

BBL can inspire kids to want to play & lovE cr icket.”

anberra hosted 13 BBL games at Manuka Oval during December and January as clubs, including Sydney Thunder and the title winning Sydney Sixers, were locked out of their home states due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions.

BBL Governs CANBERRA & SCHOOLS The flood of Big Bash League games in Canberra last summer has provided a massive boost to cricket in the ACT with record breaking numbers participating in school programs in Term 1.

The 13 games constituted almost 25% of the entire competition being at a venue that would normally host two to three Thunder games a season. Additionally, Manuka Oval hosted both One Day International and T20 fixtures between Australia and India earlier in the season. While these games provided unprecedented opportunities for fans to see elite cricket in Canberra, there was a significant amount of work done over summer to leverage off these games in the local community. As part of the Thunder Nation, Sydney Thunder’s community and fan cohort in, the ACT community continued to increase their support for the Club and it is apparent that the growth to seven regular season and one final ‘home’ games for this BBL season has only deepened that connection. This was never more evident than in ACT schools. During a normal school year across the ACT there are about 24,000 participants - from Kindergarten to Year 12 in curriculum aligned programs such as Mascot Challenge, Health & PE, School Cups and Sporting Schools - recorded in Australian Cricket school programs.

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014 a yearbbl in community governs canberra cricket 20/21 & schools – cricket nsw

The majority of each year’s school programs are delivered during Term 3 and early Term 4, with the ultimate

aim to provide an access point and an encouragement for children to join their local cricket club for the start of the season. Throughout the nine-week first Term of 2021 there were 57 programs delivered in 43 schools in the ACT of one or more of cricket’s four main programs. This equated to over 10,500 participants experiencing cricket throughout the Term. In comparison, less than 20 schools and 4,778 participants were involved in the corresponding Term 1 in 2020. Programs were delivered by Cricket NSW staff or internally by teachers and School Ambassadors, the latter being something that has also increased. Cricket NSW Area Manager, Southern NSW and ACT, Martin Gleeson, said it was a record-breaking Term for cricket in schools. “On the back of our strong relationships with schools and the massive amount of elite cricket played locally over summer, Term 1 has proven to be the busiest on record,” Gleeson said. “It is great that our premier cricket products like the men’s internationals and BBL can inspire kids to want to play and love cricket. Interestingly, only a very small percentage of these school participants were involved in School Cups, which are scheduled and delivered by staff. Most participants were involved in programs that have been teacher driven.” This really goes a long way to towards achieving our vision of developing a cricket culture in schools. a year in community cricket 20/21 – cricket nsw

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Macleay Valley Cricket Association FACILITY DEVELOPMENT In February 2020, Member for Oxley, Melinda Pavey, announced $10 million in funding had been secured to upgrade the Verge and Eden Street Sporting Complex in Kempsey. This investment has provided for two turf cricket grounds and an opportunity for the Macleay Valley Cricket Association to upgrade the public training nets which over time had become tired. Successfully securing $30,000 from the Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund and $75,000 through the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 Cricket Legacy Fund meant the Association was well on its way to having sufficient funding to construct a 6 lane training facility to not only compliment the upgrade but also to provide the local community with some high quality training facilities. Local Government relationships are key contributors to the success of projects and Steve Pellen from the Kempsey Shire Council ensured the project got off the ground and is something the local community can be proud of. The facility was officially opened 19th November 2020 marking the first of many outstanding infrastructure successes across Northern NSW.

International Women’s Day NEWCASTLE CITY Newcastle City Cricket Club celebrated International Women’s Day with a Celebration of Girls and Women in Cricket at Learmonth Park. The afternoon included a Barefoot Circle as part of our Acknowledgement of Country and connection to each other. Club Members from Woolworths Cricket Blast program through to Senior Men’s and Women’s players, supporters and the local MP, Tim Crakanthorp, enjoyed a huge game of “backyard cricket” on Learmonth Park with siblings and committee members joining in the action.

NSW Blind Cricket Team vs NDCC XI As part of the ‘Festival of Inclusion’ on the North Shore this season, the NSW Blind Cricket Team travelled to Mark Taylor Oval in Waitara to play an exhibition match against a Northern District Cricket Club invitational XI on the centre wicket. The NDCC XI consisted of Male and Female Premier Cricketers, Special Olympics representatives, Committee members and parents. It was an incredible experience for the NDCC XI to witness the elite skill level of the NSW Blind Cricket Team first-hand. Due to COVID-19, the Blind Cricket Team didn’t have the opportunity to play in their usual tournaments and were left without anyone to play against. Exhibition matches against Premier Cricket clubs in Sydney helped to fill this gap and spread the message of Blind Cricket far and wide. Players from the club left with an even greater level of respect for our Blind athletes who are truly flying the flag for inclusion within our sport.

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a year in community cricket 20/21 – cricket nsw

mark macdonald asfa nsw For all clubs the important task of “coaching the coaches” to ensure they have the expertise and support to perform their role is a major challenge. Mark Macdonald from the Winston Hills Cricket Club in Sydney’s Parramatta region has armed himself with every available resource to maximise his, and his club’s, coaching expertise. Like many junior coaches, Mark became involved as a volunteer when his children started to play the game and didn’t have a strong playing or cricket coaching background. The way in which he has used the educational courses available to improve his coaching CV provides a fantastic example of how skills and knowledge can be acquired and shared across a club. “I wanted to make sure I had the skills to do it properly, and that others in the club benefitted from that too, and I think that’s had a big impact on the way we go about things,” he says. Mark initially completed the level one (community) coaching accreditation required at most clubs. But he felt there was more he could add to his own coaching, and to the other coaches at Winston Hills CC. He has since undergone the level two (representative) accreditation and found the strong emphasis on fielding was particularly valuable. Subsequently, he set the goal for his club to have the best fielding teams in their district. “If kids can enjoy that aspect of the game I think it keeps them really engaged when they’re not batting or bowling,” he says. “It just makes the game more fun.” Significantly, Mark has taken full advantage of Cricket NSW’s masterclasses and workshops which provide educational support for club coaches on specific areas of the game. “We’ve arranged to have some of the master classes held at our club which obviously makes it easier for our coaches who don’t have time to travel,” says Mark. “We’ve had (former Australian bowler) Jason Krejza talking about spin bowling and master classes on fielding and batting. They really fill the gaps in the (accredited) courses in those specialist areas.” To “bring back” the knowledge he is acquiring to his club, Mark has set up a WhatsApp group with his fellow coaches and provides a weekly coaching tip as well as sharing stories and advice on every aspect of coaching and the game itself.

Engagement and retention is a key priority for Mark who has seen enormous benefits for his club from both a more inclusive approach in games and also improved skill acquisition. Even before the introduction of the new junior formats Mark and his fellow coaches put a strong emphasis on giving everyone a bat and bowl while improving the overall level of skill has allowed more players to progress up the age groups. “As they get older the bowlers get quicker and you need the skills to be able to keep playing,” he says. “We’re finding the kids are enjoying their cricket more and also improving as a result.” Consequently Winston Hills CC which was struggling for numbers several years ago is now fielding 20 junior teams and thriving on and off the field. This is largely because Mark and his fellow coaches at Winston Hills CC are utilising the education and support available to improve their own skills and give their players the best possible experience.

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NSW WOMEN’S

Regional Bash

MEN’S PLAN B

Regional Bash

The Final was a repeat of the 2019/20 Final. ACT Aces won the toss and sent the Coffs Coast Chargers into bat. The second tournament of the NSW Women’s Regional Bash saw all eight teams return to the park for some heated T20 competition. The Finals day coincided with the Men’s and was played at the picturesque home of Women’s Cricket, North Sydney Oval on Monday 8th February. Winning through to the Finals day were the ACT Aces, Orana Outlaws, Northern Inland Bolters and the defending champions the Coffs Coast Chargers. The Thunder Conference Final was the first match of finals day with the ACT Aces up against the Orana Outlaws and with some rain about early the ground staff did a fantastic job to ensure all matches went ahead as scheduled. The Outlaws won the toss and sent the Aces in to bat and rolling them for 88. The ACT Aces bowling attack was up to the challenge defending the low total and skittled the Outlaws for 59 to seal their place in the Final. The Sixers Conference Final followed shortly after with the Northern Inland Bolters taking on defending champions the Coffs Coast Chargers. Winning the toss and batting the Chargers Naomi McDonald continued her form from last season smashing a magnificent 106 not out off 72 balls as the Chargers posted 0/166. Chasing a record score, the Bolters were contained to 2/106. The Final was a repeat of the 2019/20 Final. ACT Aces won the toss and sent the Coffs Coast Chargers into bat. Tight bowling and fielding pressure saw the Chargers post 4/105 at the end of their 20 overs. A tight finish was in order as the ACT Aces took the game deep until composed Aces Skipper Kelly Rowlings brock the shackles and blasted two massive sixes to put the ACT Aces in the box seat and got them home with three balls to spare in a thrilling Final. ACT Aces 4/106 (Kelly Rowlings 38*, Victoria King 20, Kate Jackson 2/16) def Coffs Coast Chargers 4/105 (Anita Handono 43, Kate Rowlands 30, Monica Gair 2/22)

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The Plan B Regional Bash was played in knockout style with only those who continue to win making it through to the finals. Many of the games were hotly contested with some thrilling finishes. The Men’s final series was played on the hallowed turf of the Sydney Cricket Ground on 8th February. This season saw the competition revert to a knockout format, with 16 teams divided into Sixers and Thunder pools with four teams in each. Despite rain intervening in some of the early matches, four teams won through to the Finals day played on the hallowed turf of the SCG. In the Sixers pool, Newcastle Blasters defeated the Coffs Coast Chargers by 6 runs while the Lake Mac Attack won through in a rain depleted series of matches in Scone. In the Thunder pools, the Orana Outlaws easily accounted for the Illawarra Flames while the ACT Aces defeated the Wagga Wagga Sloggers by 4 runs in a closely contested affair. The Sixers Conference Final kicked off the morning with a match between Newcastle Blasters and cross-town rivals Lake Mac Attack. Winning the toss, Newcastle sent Lake Macquarie in and with three early wickets Newcastle looked to be on top. Jed Dickson’s quickfire 71 off 47 balls swung momentum back into Lake Mac Attack’s favour and after 20 overs set 4/163. Newcastle’s wickets continued to tumble with Mitchell Lole providing the only resistance scoring 35*. Newcastle bowled out in the 19th over for 102. Lake Mac Attack convincing winners moving through to the final.

The Thunder Conference Final saw the same two franchises going head to head as in the Women’s contest earlier in the day with ACT Aces squaring off against the Orana Outlaws. The Aces won the toss and confidently decided to set a total. Opening Bat Blake Dean got the Aces off to a flying start with 74 off 54 balls and late innings power hitting from Scott Murn 41* saw the Aces post 4/161 off their 20 overs. Again continual wickets made the job increasingly difficult for the Outlaws falling 45 runs short of victory at 6/117. The stage was set for a thrilling Final match between Lake Mac Attack and the ACT Aces. Another Final re-match with 2019/20 winners Lake Mac Attack defending champions. Attack captain Adrian Chad won the toss and elected to bat. A steady fall of wickets throughout the innings saw Lake Mac Attack restricted to 8/130. Jed Dickson 28 and Chad 22 were the main contributors with the bat while wickets were shared between Nicholas Broes 2/18, Tyler Van Luin 2/20 and Ethan Fitzpatrick 2/19. Daniel Bailey took the early wicket of opener Broes to see the Aces at 1/0 and a second wicket left them at 2/8. Blake Dean again stole the show proving too good for Lake Mac Attacks bowling attack scoring an unbeaten 70 off 55 balls sealing the victory for the ACT Aces with 7 balls to spare. ACT Aces 6/131 (Blake Dean 70*) def. Lake Mac Attack 8/130 (Jed Dickson 28, Adrian Chad 22, Nicholas Broes 2/18, Tyler Van Luin 2/20, Ethan Fitzpatrick 2/19). Congratulations to the ACT Aces on claiming the Plan B Regional Bash title and securing the double with their Women’s team also lifting the trophy.

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BBL TROPHY TOUR-

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Northern NSW

Lends A Hand

After the Sixers took out BBL 10 for its second consecutive title the trophy made a road trip through Greater Hunter and Northern NSW in March providing great excitement and a definitive buzz around Schools, Clubs and community who were lucky enough to see it. Covering a massive 1,500kms from region to region the trophy visited 17 schools involving 2,600 students in fun games, skills and photo opportunities. Club players, volunteers and community groups also received the chance to view and have a photo taken with the Trophy, an experience described by one volunteer as a once in a lifetime opportunity. After being unable to finish the tour in 2020 due to COVID-19, Community Cricket staff were fortunate to get the chance to roadshow the trophy again in Term 1 just prior to the devastating floods that raged through Northern NSW.

NDCC BLOWFLY

Inclusion Centre The first of its kind in Australia, the Northern District Cricket Club Blowfly Cricket Inclusion Centre was a huge success in its inaugural season. The Woolworths-funded Junior Blasters program was specifically designed for children aged 5-10 who are living with a disability. The amazing thing about this program however, was the fact that all the coaches employed at the centre were also living with a disability! It was incredible to witness Maddie, Akanksha, Nicko, Harry, Aaron and Nathanial grow and develop their communication and coaching skills throughout the program. All of these coaches did an incredible job coaching the kids and showed that their disabilities would not hold them back! The participants had a great time at the sessions, so much so that parents organised for their kids to meet up during Winter to continue playing cricket together at the local park. This program has had an incredible impact on those involved and we can’t wait to see it continue to grow and inspire more kids who are living with a disability to play and love cricket.

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Cumberland LGA is located in Western Sydney and has a very high multicultural rate with the community coming from various different backgrounds. The Council themselves were a product of the LGA mergers in 2017 and has been proactive ever since. The Recreation Officers, Rebecca Reynolds and Jessica Allison, have been instrumental in implementing initiatives to encourage healthy and active lifestyles amongst their community. Through their Healthy Kids, Women in Sport, Girls Get Active and Holiday Camps, the local area have plenty of options to get outside and be active- all of which cricket support and are able to achieve outcomes through. This season has been a tough season for everyone but council have implemented COVID safe practices which has enabled Cricket to continue to strive and develop relationships with schools that previously have not been engaged. Rebecca and Jess are well across Cricket NSW and Sydney Thunder’s school offerings and when speaking to schools are actively promoting cricket to them while also aligning their School Holiday Programs to cricket clubs to enable promotional opportunities and great exposure for the local clubs. Over the course of the year, Cumberland Council has organised and attributed 520 participants from 4 previously unengaged schools. From this, we have also been able to embed the relationships with those schools to now have School Ambassadors as well as an extra 190 participants as the schools have undergone more programs.

520 participants from 4 previously unengaged schools The relationships that Cumberland Council allow CNSW to engage with allow for better promotion of junior cricket programs and therefore better school to club transition rates. Cumberland Council are actively promoting our Woolworth HPE programs, Thunder Leadership and School Cups which again varies the offerings and allows wider reach within the community. Once council have locked the program in for us, we invoice them for the cost and run the program as if it was our own. Council run School Holiday Programs every holidays and are always strategic with their placement of these to directly link to a local cricket club. This then allows the club to promote not only directly to 30-50participants but also promote their home ground and the culture within their club. Outside of the Sport and Rec team, the Infrastructure team are also very supportive always joining meetings with local clubs to discuss options when it comes to upgrades of their facilities. Although Council themselves may not always be able to support financially, they will always provide letters of support and point the clubs in the appropriate direction. a year in community cricket 20/21 – cricket nsw

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SOCIAL WOMEN’S CRICKET

Greater Hunter Social Women’s Cricket continued to grow in the Greater Hunter during 2020-21 with new centres being established in Maitland, Lake Macquarie and Scone in the Upper Hunter. More than 250 women registered to participate in the T20 format with its popularity built around having fun with friends. The games are quick to play, everyone gets the opportunity to bat and bowl and the soft ball ensures there’s no bulky protective equipment to be worn. Games are set-up, umpired and scored by enthusiastic support staff and equipment is all supplied.

Wear it Magenta Day HORNSBY NORTH PUBLIC SCHOOL

The first ever ‘Wear it Magenta Day’ was a huge success with over 550 students from Hornsby North Public School participating in a Cricket Skills Session while wearing their best Magenta to raise money for the Sony Foundation! With support from the Sydney Sixers, Cricket NSW Community Cricket Staff delivered a fun day of Cricket Blast activities on the oval. Teachers also jumped in and ran some activities! All students received fun Sixers giveaways and left with a big smile on their faces. A big thank you to Chad Lawrence from Hornsby North Public School who helped to organise the day and other cricket activities throughout the year.

This season, 8-week competitions were run in Spring and Summer where weeks of heavy rain required the Greater Hunter team to look at indoor alternatives to get matches played. Most competitions were run on Sunday afternoons while Scone ran in the cool of Friday evenings. Music was mandatory and themed weeks from ABBA to the 80’s proved popular with players. Social Women’s Cricket is attracting a whole new group of females to enjoy the game and have fun with their friends in a judgment free environment and indications are that this format of the game will continue to enjoy growth into the future.

WOOLWORTHS CRICKET FUND

Smashes Boundaries We ran three different programs within the region utilising the Woolworths Cricket Fund, all seeing excellent outcomes and reaching their capacity limit! • Hills Holiday Clinic • Matthew Pearce PS After School Blast • Hawkesbury PCYC Blast The Hills Holiday Clinic was the first use of the funding and ran in October 2020 at Hills Centenary Reserve, Rouse Hill. We saw 24 participants register and attend this season, all of whom had never played cricket before. We had previously tried running holiday programs within the area, with extremely poor uptake. The WWCF has allowed us to offer this for free and reach participants we otherwise would not have been able to. Matthew Pearce PS After School Blast was delayed a number of times due to COVID, but was finally set up and ran on school grounds in Term 1, 2021. We saw overwhelming interest in this program, with our cap of 50 being reached within minutes of registrations opening. This program was also targeted at new or developing players, all of which had a great time throughout 022

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the program! We had previously not been engaged with the school at all, but through the WWCF we now have an ongoing relationship, with the school running an Intra School Cup in Term 2, as well as looking to attend our Term 3 Gala Days, as well as pursuing twice yearly after-school programs. The legacy of this funding is seen through this program.

Coach Support In Hand The award-winning Junior Cricket App is a free download designed to help parent coaches of all levels to access game formats on match day and create training session plans from over two hundred skill videos on their phone or device. The videos cover all aspects of cricket from warm-up activities to contemporary batting, bowling, fielding and wicket-keeping skill drills. Coaches can set their session environment using nets, centre wicket or outfield options and choose between pre-set session plan options or creating your own.

In addition to training support, the app provides information on umpire signals, decision-making and how to score matches. A key theme in feedback received from coaches using the App highlighted that players were more engaged at training and enjoyed the wide variety of drills available rather than simply going to the nets for ‘a bat and a bowl’. It’s a game changer for all coaches and it’s free, download today from the App Store or Google Play.

The final program which utilised the funding was the Hawkesbury PCYC Blast, which ran out of the PCYC building in South Windsor. We set this program up off the back of a devastating 18 month period for the area, involving fires, floods, COVID and further flooding. The program was slow to gain traction but eventually reached its limit 30 participants, all of which had not played cricket before. This program will continue to take place out of season and away from club run programs. The WWCF has opened many new doors within the region, and is something that we will continue to try and utilise going forward, to give everyone within the region the opportunity to take part in cricket.

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Sydney Tigers Girls Academy The program was a free program specifically designed to increase participation in the girl’s space. The IWHJCA partner with the Sydney Cricket Club and SEDJCA to create the Tigers Academy The program is run for young girls of all cricket experience and runs alongside the Sydney Cricket Club Women’s team training. The program was designed to increase participation for all member clubs of the association in the female space, and to develop the current crop of girls rep players.

This initiative was a collaborative effort across the Ryde, Inner Sydney, Sydney City and Inner West regions and targeted girls of all ages and abilities to join cricket for the first time and develop experienced cricketers. The program, with around 50 girls participating in peak of season, was a free program specifically designed to increase participation in the girl’s space. Greg Healy from the grade club shows girls who are new to cricket the ins and outs of the games and encourages them to bring along friends to join in at the beautiful setting of Drummoyne Oval.

MULTICULTURAL CRICKET

at Bayanami B

ayanami PS opened it’s doors in February 2019. The school is located in the centre of Parramatta and has a high percentage of south-east Asian students. This season, teacher Cassandra Brennan reached out to CNSW to enquire about what programs we could offer to build a culture of cricket at the school. In their first season with us, Cassandra and her fellow teachers have run self-delivered HPE program to 229 students across 2 terms, participated in Mascots Challenge for K-2 and completed an intra school cup for their students to celebrate their passion for cricket. The feedback from the students was very positive and they thoroughly enjoyed the cricket programs on offer plus the teachers found our resources extremely helpful and easy to follow which gave them confidence in delivering cricket programs in their school. From these programs, many students have signed up for the after-school program located close by in Parramatta Park. It’s great to see children not only participate in school programs, but to then join other children in the local community play cricket too. We successfully ran after-school programs for 2 terms with parents even wanting a winter cricket blast program too! The passion for cricket in this school is something CNSW would like to continue to see thrive and grow. Some of the initiatives that took place included:• T eacher delivered HPE programs for K-6 students during covid lockdown utilising Cricket NSW online resources programs • Year-round cricket delivery • T eacher delivered Mascot’s Challenge K-2 program • Cassandra Brennan is a School Ambassador • A ctive promotion of local cricket clubs and Cricket Blast programs to their students. • 1 5% of the Parramatta Park Cricket Blast Centre registrations came from students at the school • R unning cricket programs to cater to the diverse multicultural backgrounds of the students, 94% of which are from a language background other than English. For a school that has only been open for 2 years to have started to build their culture of cricket over the last 12 months has shown how passionate teachers, parents and students are about our wonderful sport. Cricket NSW has built a strong relationship with both teachers and students and we look forward to what next season will deliver!

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