Northern Territory Cricket is pleased to announce that three Northern Territory women have been nominated for Cricket Australia’s National Community Cricket Awards – Nightcliff Cricket Club’s Ella Piccoli-Auckram (Young Leader), Tracy Village Cricket Club’s Mel Nixon (Women and Girls Initiative) and Alice Springs Cricket Association’s Chrissie Ponter (Volunteer of the Year).
The National Community Cricket Awards are the highest recognition across Australia for individuals, clubs, and associations that have exhibited excellence in their roles and made a positive impact in the communities they serve.
The awards cover 15 areas including volunteering, club administration, officiating, participation, diversity and inclusion, and program development.
Since the commencement of the awards in 2016, the NT has had one previous winner with Marcus Rosas (2021) recognised as the ‘Official of the Year’, while John Tate (2024) has also been recognised as ‘highly commended’ (runner up) in the ‘Volunteer of the Year category’.
Ella Piccoli-Auckram
The Young Leader Award recognises a young person, under the age of 25, who positively impacts those around them through their off-field leadership in volunteering.
Ella was nominated for her work with Nightcliff Cricket Club in 2024/25, as she took on several roles including Women’s Co-ordinator, participating as a player, acting on the Events Committee, and leading the club’s Woolworths Cricket Blast program.
Ella was also the Team Manager for the NT’s first-ever U16 National Championship side and has played an active role in the junior female space in 2025 through school holiday programs, NT Academy, and Junior Strike League planning.
Mel Nixon
The Women & Girls Initiative celebrates the outstanding delivery of female-based experiences by finding clever and innovative ways to engage and grow their program.
Mel Nixon has been a passionate advocate for Women and Girls in cricket, balancing her everyday work and family life with a strong involvement in the Tracy Village Cricket Club in Darwin.
As Junior Coordinator for the past five years (and now Club President), Mel has made a significant impact on the overall club and participation numbers; two years ago, she established the club’s first-ever U9 girls' team, growing participation from just one girl at Tracy Village to last year having the highest total Blast numbers at 59 (including 23 girl participants).
TVCC has committed to an inclusive environment that has reduced the barriers to participation for Women and Girls, including providing shared equipment, covering the costs of Cricket Blast Programs, offsetting registration costs, and ensuring all volunteers are upskilled in providing female-specific training environments.
Chrissie Ponter
The Volunteer of the Year recognises an outstanding individual who has demonstrated significant contribution and leadership in supporting their Club, Association, program or team to create great experiences for their community.
Chrissie’s contribution to women’s cricket in the Alice Springs Cricket Association (ASCA) competition is highly regarded, as she helps to organise competitions, score matches, coordinate trainings and secure vital funding for improved female facilities.
Chrissie was also instrumental in the 2024 Desert Rose Cup where she played a key role in organising flights/travel, logistics, uniform, driving the team bus, and then coaching the Alice Springs side.
Her significant involvement in the Imparja Cup, the annual Indigenous Cricket competition, has also seen her work closely with the local community to form four women’s teams, with a strong focus on encouraging and supporting remote Indigenous girls to participate in the carnival.