PUTTING a spin on his love for cricket, 11 year-old Matthew Howley dove into the history of racism in sport, leading him to win a public speaking competition.
The New Lambton South Public School year 5 student won the 2023 Senior NSW Multicultural Perspectives Public Speaking Competition where he delivered a prepared speech under the topic 'Learning from the past'.
In his speech he talked about the mistreatment of Indigenous bowler Eddie Gilbert who had an impressive arm, but was never recognised for his talent, until after he died.
"Eddie Gilbert dismissed Don Bradman in a stunning opening over in the first Sheffield Shield match of 1931.
"Despite the legendary display of bowling, I hadn't heard of Eddie Gilbert," he said.
Matthew plays cricket locally for Western Suburbs Cricket Club and has always aspired to be like those who make the Australian team but he started to wonder what about those who were never selected and why.
He found that Gilbert experienced racism from teammates, was forced to sleep in a tent on the practice pitch and faced illegal bowling allegations.
"Learning about Gilbert's experience has opened my eyes to another side of Australia's sporting history. We cannot change Gilbert's story but it is a sobering reminder of the racism and intolerance First Nations people still face, both on and off the cricket pitch," Matthew said.
He said he has been fortunate to experience friendship and connection through playing cricket and it was something that all people should get to experience.
"When I connect with cricket, not only has it been really great for me, but sport is a great opportunity for many people to interact with others and create friendships and with Eddie Gilbert it was very different for him," he said.
"He had to play sport to integrate into society and what he really needed was the friendships that I have.
"We must all work towards making cricket an inclusive game with equal opportunities for all. The discrimination Gilbert suffered must never be repeated."
For his impromptu part of his speech he delivered on the topic 'Under pressure' where he spoke about plastic pollution.
"I wrote about how the government is under pressure and many environmentalists are under pressure to solve climate change and what we really need to do is stop putting them under pressure. We need to stop doing what's convenient and start doing what's right," he said.
