Australians broaden the game's horizons

Steve Waugh meets the local children

The Australian cricketers should have been playing the final day of their Test match with Bangladesh today, but instead they spent the day eating buffalo and fishing with Aborigines on the remote Tiwi Islands north of Darwin.

"It's been a real eye-opener for us, to visit an Aboriginal community and see the culture and traditions, and the way people live," Steve Waugh said. "It's something new to us and it's a great experience.

"Australian football is obviously number one here, but I think cricket, the kids here have definitely got potential for cricket," Waugh continued. "I see a lot of talent. I think they probably need a role model and they need people to come up here and to show them how to play the game."

Island resident Mary Elizabeth Moreen said the community loved to watch international cricket matches on television, but had never played the sport. "Our children have never ever had cricket in the community. This is the first time," Moreen explained. "They didn't know about how the game is played. They were all excited and happy."

Jason Gillespie, who has aboriginal heritage, said the Australian team could inspire aboriginal talent to come through and play top-level cricket.