Imparja Cup 2013:Celebrating 20 years of Indigenous cricket
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 8:59 pm
On Monday, 20 years after two teams contested the inaugural Imparja Cup, 38 teams will descend on Alice Springs to contest the 2013 competition.
New South Wales returns to defend its dual men’s and women’s State and Territory titles of 2012 and will be joined by teams from across Australia in the Major Centres and Community divisions.
Cricket Australia Executive General Manager Game and Market Development Andrew Ingleton said the 20th Imparja Cup is a great achievement.
“Twenty years is a significant milestone for a tournament that began with just two teams in 1994 and now boasts 38 teams and 500 participants from across Australia,” Mr Ingleton said.
“The tournament has evolved into a truly national competition. It has become part of the an important pathway for Indigenous cricketers and credit must go to founders Ross Williams and Shane Franey.”
“Engaging Indigenous Australians in cricket is fundamental to the strategy of Australian cricket and the Imparja Cup has the unique ability to do this across its four divisions from the community level to the elite.”
Cricket Australia National Talent Manager Greg Chappell will travel to Alice Springs for the tournament to canvass the country’s Indigenous talent.
“Cricket Australia’s search for talented cricketers spans the country and the Imparja Cup provides a week-long advertisement for our nation’s Indigenous cricketers,” Mr Chappell said.
“Having our nation’s best Indigenous talent in a central location gives me the chance to closely assess the Indigenous talent pool. It links the tournament’s participants to the high performance system and hopefully someday will lead to a baggy green.”
The tournament will be prefaced by the annual ACA Masters and Black Caps match at Traeger Park on Sunday.
The Black Caps side comprises the best performed players from the 2012 Imparja Cup. While the ACA Masters will this year be represented by Lee Carseldine, Peter Sleep, Craig McDermott, Greg Matthews, Phil Emery, Rodney Hogg, Wayne Holdsworth, Richard Chee Quee, Brendan Drew, Sarah Eliott and Julia Price.
Tennant Creek and Alice Springs staged the first Imparja match on Australia Day in 1994. Four years later NT Cricket was enlisted to grow the tournament and Cricket Australia certified it as an official national competition.
Alice Springs and Tennant Creek will play a heritage match on Wednesday 20 February to mark the competition’s 20th anniversary. The Northern Territory and Tasmania will also play one another on the day in a historical rematch of the tournament’s first interstate fixture of 2002.
The Imparja Cup is supported by the Commonwealth Bank and the Northern Territory Government.
New South Wales returns to defend its dual men’s and women’s State and Territory titles of 2012 and will be joined by teams from across Australia in the Major Centres and Community divisions.
Cricket Australia Executive General Manager Game and Market Development Andrew Ingleton said the 20th Imparja Cup is a great achievement.
“Twenty years is a significant milestone for a tournament that began with just two teams in 1994 and now boasts 38 teams and 500 participants from across Australia,” Mr Ingleton said.
“The tournament has evolved into a truly national competition. It has become part of the an important pathway for Indigenous cricketers and credit must go to founders Ross Williams and Shane Franey.”
“Engaging Indigenous Australians in cricket is fundamental to the strategy of Australian cricket and the Imparja Cup has the unique ability to do this across its four divisions from the community level to the elite.”
Cricket Australia National Talent Manager Greg Chappell will travel to Alice Springs for the tournament to canvass the country’s Indigenous talent.
“Cricket Australia’s search for talented cricketers spans the country and the Imparja Cup provides a week-long advertisement for our nation’s Indigenous cricketers,” Mr Chappell said.
“Having our nation’s best Indigenous talent in a central location gives me the chance to closely assess the Indigenous talent pool. It links the tournament’s participants to the high performance system and hopefully someday will lead to a baggy green.”
The tournament will be prefaced by the annual ACA Masters and Black Caps match at Traeger Park on Sunday.
The Black Caps side comprises the best performed players from the 2012 Imparja Cup. While the ACA Masters will this year be represented by Lee Carseldine, Peter Sleep, Craig McDermott, Greg Matthews, Phil Emery, Rodney Hogg, Wayne Holdsworth, Richard Chee Quee, Brendan Drew, Sarah Eliott and Julia Price.
Tennant Creek and Alice Springs staged the first Imparja match on Australia Day in 1994. Four years later NT Cricket was enlisted to grow the tournament and Cricket Australia certified it as an official national competition.
Alice Springs and Tennant Creek will play a heritage match on Wednesday 20 February to mark the competition’s 20th anniversary. The Northern Territory and Tasmania will also play one another on the day in a historical rematch of the tournament’s first interstate fixture of 2002.
The Imparja Cup is supported by the Commonwealth Bank and the Northern Territory Government.