The NSW women’s and men’s squads have concluded a week of cricket, culture and celebration at the National Indigenous Cricket Championships (NICC) in Mackay, with both teams competing fiercely throughout the tournament.
NSW Women finish runner up at National Indigenous Cricket Championships
Pictured: Julie Muir with rising star Callee Black
NSW came within one win of taking out the women’s title, going down to Victoria in Sunday’s Final at Harrup Park, while the men’s outfit finished fourth. Both teams’ participation in the tournament was proudly supported by the Cricket NSW Foundation.
The tournament produced several special moments for NSW, including Pat Rosser playing alongside his son Jimmy Rosser in the men’s match against PNG. Siblings Luca and Sasha Croft proudly represented NSW together across the men’s and women’s squads.
The tournament also marked the retirement of Julie Muir, who concluded an outstanding representative career. Muir captained the NSW Women on 17 occasions, including this year as co-captain alongside Black, and was part of 14 title-winning campaigns.
After beginning the tournament with an early loss to Victoria, the NSW women’s side rebounded with a five-wicket win over Western Australia, led by a dominant 83 not out from Callee Black. The victory, combined with one abandoned match, was enough to progress them to the Finals.
NSW again defeated WA in the Preliminary Final, securing a nine-wicket victory thanks to strong all-round performances, including Roxsanne Van Veen’s 61 runs.
But the decider did not go NSW’s way, with Victoria’s 3-157 proving too big a total to chase down. Black was the standout with the bat, finishing as NSW’s leading run-scorer with 166 runs.
The NSW Men finished the tournament with three wins from seven matches, with one game abandoned due to rain.
NSW opened their campaign with a win against the Northern Territory, highlighted by Brynley Richards’ half-century and three wickets from Luca Croft. Another victory followed with Ethan Fitzpatrick scoring an unbeaten 51, while Croft and Kaine Balgowan each claimed three wickets.
A hard-fought, one-wicket win over Tasmania proved another highlight, with Balgowan collecting three wickets and important batting contributions from Fitzpatrick (44), Richards (27) and Blake Smith (40).
Across the tournament, Fitzpatrick topped the NSW run-scoring charts with 160 runs, while Richards compiled 123 runs. Balgowan and Croft were standouts with the ball, finishing with nine and seven wickets respectively.
Both NSW squads showcased talent, resilience and pride in representing their state at the NICC, underlining the strength of Indigenous cricket pathways in New South Wales.