From community conversations to the Test match
Sport4All and NT Cricket create inclusive cricket opportunities
When Test cricket returned to Darwin, All Abilities participants had a chance to step onto the field themselves. During the lunch break at Marrara Stadium, they joined school students for short games of cricket, with equipment and pitch lengths adapted to support the people playing.
The experience was part of Sport4All and NT Cricket’s work together in the Northern Territory to create more opportunities for people with disability to get involved in the game. It followed community inclusion learning and a cricket session with Nathan Lyon, where some of the most telling moments happened between the games.
Where the connection began
Months before the Australia–Bangladesh Test, Sport4All brought Darwin clubs and peak sporting bodies together for a community forum and learning session. The discussion focused on barriers to participation and practical ways to make sport more inclusive.
Megan Harris, NT Cricket’s women and girls’ growth lead, attended. Since then, she has been leading the development of All Abilities cricket opportunities at NT Cricket, with support from Sport4All Inclusion Coaches Alex Woodward and John Clarke.
The collaboration brings inclusion learning and local support alongside the sport’s own knowledge, equipment and programs. That is the value of working with state and territory sporting organisations: helping people who shape sporting opportunities consider how more people can take part.
Cricket questions and icy poles with Nathan Lyon
Ahead of the Test, NT Cricket delivered an All Abilities session with Australian Test cricketer Nathan Lyon. Participants played cricket, practised skills and then gathered in a circle for icy poles and questions.
The conversation ranged beyond cricket. Asked what animal he would choose to be, Nathan picked a lion. One participant chose a griffin. When another participant needed more time to process a question and form an answer, the group waited without interrupting. Giving him that space was a simple example of recognising different communication needs and making room for someone to contribute in their own time.
Taking the game onto the Test ground
The lunch-break activation at the Darwin Test offered another way to experience cricket. All Abilities participants played alongside school students on the same ground hosting the international match.
A larger, softer ball provided a bigger target at different points in the games. Cones marked out pitches whose length could change to suit the people playing. These adjustments gave participants with different skills and support needs ways to join in.
For clubs reading this story, those details are useful starting points: consider the equipment, adapt the space and allow time for people to communicate.
Building inclusion through sporting partnerships
Sport4All’s work with NT Cricket sits alongside its partnership with Disability Sports Northern Territory, which provides local inclusion support for clubs and schools.
These relationships help connect inclusion knowledge with people who deliver sport. In Darwin, that work has included community learning, All Abilities cricket sessions and an opportunity to play during a Test match.
Want to explore what a Sport4All partnership could support in your sport? Learn how we work with sporting organisations to build disability inclusion into community sport.
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Making sport more welcoming starts before someone arrives. Drawing on reflections from Sport4All and GSA team members, this article explores how clear information, choice and everyday inclusion can help people participate and keep coming back.
