This year's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander T20 Cup is being hosted in Albury Wodonga this week after twice being postponed because of the pandemic.
Northern area manager for Cricket NSW Martin Garoni said the two-day tournament, now in its fifth year, celebrated cricket and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
"It's a fantastic way to expose the great skills of the young cricketers coming through and it's a chance for them to share their culture with other people," he said.
"Every year we usually have both the male and female Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers teams compete against each other, but the competition has been postponed a couple of times because of COVID and the female version hasn't been able to go ahead this year."
This year's men's tournament features four teams representing Sydney's Thunder and Sixers and Melbourne's Stars and Renegades.
It's the first time the two Melbourne teams have played in the tournament.
"We are very fortunate that we have had the Renegades and Stars from Victoria's men's teams join us," Mr Garoni said.
'Wonderful opportunity'
NSW central coast-based Sydney Sixers captain and Dunghutti and Birpi man Brett Russell said the tournament was a platform for him to be a role model for young people in his community.
"It's a wonderful opportunity to share culture and cricket and inspire new players," he said.
Waradjuri man and Sydney Thunder captain James Whiting said the cultural side of the event was particularly important to him.
"When l was younger and growing up, I did not really know about my culture, but now I have learnt a lot — this [tournament] is a good learning stage," he said.
"The communication and talking that happens on the field … you ask questions and you learn different things about culture and language."
High-quality comp
Cricket NSW Murray region area manager Jerim Hayes said this year's calibre of players was high.
"There are a lot of great cricketers here, some play grade cricket in Sydney and Melbourne," he said.
Mr Hayes said the tournament was being played across four venues in the region — Albury's Alexandra and Billson Parks, Wodonga's Les Cheesley Oval and Barranduda Fields.
He hoped the tournament would return to Albury Wodonga in the future.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander T20 Cup concludes on Wednesday night.
