Where are the indigenous players?

Malcolm Conn in the Australian looks at what Cricket Australia could do to encourage more participation from a wider group of cultural groups, including indigenous Australians. Conn speaks to Creagh O'Connor, the outgoing Cricket Australia chairman, who says he is disappointed with the progress being made in encouraging more indigenous players.

While some football codes, particularly the AFL, are heavily populated by indigenous players and those from post-war migrant families, cricket remains a defiantly Anglo game. Jason Gillespie, a descendant of the Kamilaroi people who once populated northern NSW, is the only Test player to publicly acknowledge his Aboriginal heritage, although Gillespie claims he is as much Greek as Aboriginal.

Neither the indigenous nor European migrant population has made any significant impact on Australian cricket. In an effort to spread its cultural base, Cricket Australia is taking indoor cricket under its ever burgeoning umbrella.