The Andrews Labor Government has secured the inaugural National Cricket Inclusion Championships for Geelong.
Minister for Sport John Eren today announced Australia’s first ever national championships for the nation’s top deaf and blind cricketers and cricketers with an intellectual disability will be at Kardinia Park for the next three years.
The Labor Government has secured the event with a Significant Sporting Events Program grant. The Program helps stage more than 70 events in Melbourne and regional Victoria each year.
The Cricket Australia tournament will attract more than 200 of Australia’s best all-abilities male and female cricketers, all vying for national glory. The week-long Championship will feature both Twenty20 and One-Day clashes.
National sporting events attract players, support staff, spectators and families to our suburbs and towns, and that’s a big boost to local economies. It’s another chance for Geelong to showcase the best of everything it offers to visitors from right around Australia.
Victorians love their cricket, and the Labor Government wants us to remain Australia’s cricket capital. We’ve teamed up with Cricket Victoria and Cricket Australia to deliver The Community Cricket Program: On Common Ground. The program is creating new opportunities for Victorians pick up a bat or ball and enjoy the game.
The Labor Government is turning Simonds Stadium into regional Australia’s best venue, lifting the ground’s capacity to 36,000. It means more of the marquee blockbusters, like last summer’s KFC Big Bash match and West Indies tour game.
The National Cricket Inclusion Championships runs from January 17-24.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Sport, John Eren
“The National Cricket Inclusion Championships is an Australian first, and it’s going to be right here in Geelong.”
“These are Australia’s top all-abilities cricketers. It’s going to be a great spectacle and a great driver of the Geelong economy.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Geelong, Christine Couzens
“The big sporting events attract players, supporters and spectators from all over Australia. That’s a big boost to the local economy.”
“Geelong is at the forefront of ensuring those with a disability enjoy the sporting and recreation opportunities we all deserve.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020