Cricket Australia has today announced the 2025 National Indigenous Cricket Championships (NICC) will be held at Great Barrier Reef Arena and Harrup Park in Mackay from April 2-7, 2025.
Cricket Australia has chosen to host the championships in another region after 8 years of the NICC being held on Arrernte Country in Mparntwe, Alice Springs.
Cricket Australia have made the decision following discussions with State and Territory Governments about the opportunity to secure and host CA events and national tournaments over the next seven seasons.
NT Cricket CEO Gavin Dovey said:
“We are obviously disappointed the NICC won’t be held in the Northern Territory next year. We believe Mparntwe is the spiritual home of indigenous cricket so we would have liked to see this important cultural sporting event remain in Central Australia in 2025 and beyond.
However, we respect the process that has been undertaken by Cricket Australia and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cricket Advisory Group (NATSICAC), and look forward to the opportunity to work with the new Northern Territory Government to bring the event home at some point in the future.
We also acknowledge and appreciate the feedback from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players who have expressed a desire to see this event connect with country, cultures, and communities in other regions around the country.”
NT Cricket would like to extend its sincere thanks and gratitude to the Alice Springs Town Council, NT Government and Alice Springs Cricket Association for their wonderful support of this event over the past 8 years, an event which emanated from the Imparja Cup which has been running for 31 years and will continue in 2025 as Australia’s biggest Indigenous cricket festival.
NT Cricket will continue to focus on driving increased participation and engagement of indigenous communities at a community, school and grassroots level, including the growth and development of remote carnivals such as the Dingo Cup (Timber Creek), Barra Cup (Borroloola), Nitmiluk Cup (Katherine) and the Rossy Williams Shield (Tennant Creek).
NT Cricket will shortly announce the dates of the 2025 Imparja Cup to be held in Alice Springs in February, with the event now shaping as a selection vehicle for talented young male and female indigenous players interested in representing the Northern Territory at the 2025 NICC.