Cricket Australia unveil Indigenous ODI kit for men’s and women’s team
Cricket Australia have unveiled a striking new Indigenous-themed jersey this summer for the men’s and women’s teams. The cricket body has been endorsing the ‘cricket for all’ policy for a while and this step is another effort to better recognize and encourage the involvement of Indigenous Australians in cricket. Notably, the men’s team had donned a similar jersey during the three-match T20I series against India last year.
The new design, which is pretty similar to the previous Indigenous-themed kit, will be sported by the Australian teams in home One-Day Internationals. Notably, Australia’s women’s team is set to host arch-rivals England in February next year. Hence, Meg Lanning’s team will don the jersey against the Three Lions.
As far as the men’s team is concerned, they will wear the Indigenous kit in just one of their three home ODIs against New Zealand this summer. While they’ll go Indigenous in the first ODI in Perth on January 30, they’ll revert back to their plain golden kit for the subsequent matches in Hobart and Sydney in early February.
The story behind the Indigenous kit our Aussies will wear this summer! 🖤💛❤️
Our Aussie men will wear this special design in their ODI series' against New Zealand and Pakistan, while @AusWomenCricket will pull it on for the ODI's against England in their upcoming Ashes series. pic.twitter.com/b7QmDkmdwH
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) November 23, 2021
Australian team set to sport Indigenous-themed kit in Pakistan tour
Nevertheless, Aaron Finch’s men will again wear the Indigenous kit for their ODIs in Pakistan next March and April. Notably, this would be the first occasion of the Aussie team sporting Indigenous jerseys in an overseas assignment. As per Cricket.com.au, the kit design might return in future ODI series in the 2022-23 home summer.
For the unversed, the kit design is a collaboration between manufacturer ASICS and two Indigenous women, Aunty Fiona Clarke and Courtney Hagen. The duo has been instrumental to promote the gentleman’s game in the Indigenous community. Hagen, however, recently moved on from her post as CA’s Indigenous Engagement Specialist.
Meanwhile, the Indigenous-themed kit was first donned by Australia’s women’s side in a match against England in 2019. They have been proactive in addressing the racism issue in the sport since then. Notably, the Indigenous jerseys have also been sported by teams in the ongoing Women’s Big Bash League and the same will happen in the upcoming men’s edition of the tournament.
As far as the national team is concerned, Australia are fresh from their T20 World Cup 2021 triumph and would like to thrive in their upcoming assignments as well. The women’s team is also the defending T20 World Cup champions and won’t mind clinching the upcoming ICC titles as well.
