The Northern District Cricket Club has received a grant of $5,000 for the development of female coaching and the growth in female participation and retention, as part of the $1.96 million NSW ICC World T20 Cricket Legacy Fund.

Member for Ku-ring-gai, Alister Henskens SC MP, said the NSW ICC World T20 Cricket Legacy Fund is especially designed to ensure clubs and players at the grassroots level benefit from the 14 matches to be held in NSW for the ICC World T20 2020 tournaments.

“Cricket is just one of the many sports which unites communities across the state and gives female and male players a fantastic chance to build skills and be part of a team,” Mr Henskens said.

“This fund has been established to inspire the next generation of cricketers. The grant to the Northern Districts Cricket Club will improve female participation and development pathways for players. Several of the female players live a considerable distance from Waitara and the funding will help to defray their travel expenses,” Mr Henskens said.

“It was great to meet the Northern District female Premier League team during their match against Universities on the weekend. The team has many highly talented players and is, by sheer coincidence, coached by the son of my junior cricket coach in Newcastle.”

Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres said the program will support the growth of cricket and fund infrastructure projects across NSW in the lead up to the event.

“This is the first of three rounds of the legacy fund, which will deliver up to $6 million over the next three years for local cricket clubs, associations and local councils to support cricket participation growth in NSW,” Mr Ayres said.

Cricket NSW Chief Executive Officer Andrew Jones said that the NSW ICC World T20 Cricket Legacy Fund will deliver significant benefits for local clubs and councils, helping to maximise the expected growth in participation resulting from hosting the tournament in Australia.

“With more girls and boys, women and men, of all ages playing cricket across NSW than ever, the fund will both support the growth of the sport in local communities and leave a lifelong legacy for one of the biggest sporting events this decade.”

For more information on the ICC World T20 2020, sign up at icc-cricket.com/worldt20