Cricket 2022: Scott Boland on a mission to take national game to the heart of Australia
He found himself collecting Ash Barty’s tennis balls from the scrub around Uluru and Scott Boland is hoping he can have a similar impact in inspiring Australia’s indigenous youth.
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Cricket might be Australia’s national sport, but for Aboriginal youngsters facing Scott Boland in the shadows of Uluru it was like a new awakening.
Boland didn’t discover his Indigenous ancestry until later in life, and in the wake of his history-making Test debut, he has now made it his ongoing mission to introduce cricket to remote Aboriginal communities where the game has never been played.
For the handful of students at Nyangatjara College in the Mutitjulu Community near Uluru, they don’t know Boland for taking 6-7 against England on TV, but they’ll remember him forever now as “Wati Wara” — the ‘tall man’ — who spent hours in the red dirt teaching them to bat and throw.
At one point on Tuesday when fishing around in the scrub for his own cricket ball that had been smashed for six by one of the kids, Boland instead discovered a tennis ball that it turns out — quite incredibly — was hit out there seven months ago when Ash Barty took tennis to Uluru.
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It was symbolic of the lasting impact a visit like this can have, as Boland — himself only the second Aboriginal man to play Test cricket in 140 years — took the ICC Twenty20 World Cup trophy held by Australia, to boys and girls who must become part of cricket’s future.
“I think it’s the best way we can grow the game. There’s so many opportunities to grow the game in communities like this when you come out here and there are kids who probably haven’t played that much cricket in their life,” Boland told News Corp.
“The kids were smacking balls into the bushes and I spoke to a couple of the kids and they said they had a great day.
“If they started enjoying it just from the little interactions we had today and then take it back to school and play with their friends, that’s the best way we can build cricket in different parts of Australia.
“Helping someone who doesn’t have any interest in cricket at the start, learn to enjoy the game, there’s real satisfaction in that.
“I’m sure there would be heaps of Aboriginal girls and boys playing tennis because of Ash Barty, and hopefully I can be the same and help keep growing cricket and encourage more boys and girls to play our great game.”
Uluru is a family name rather than a geographical site, and Boland sat with family elders on Tuesday to hear their story or “Tjukurpa” — which translates in English to behaviours to live by.
The elders emphasised how they do not dwell on the past, but focus on the future — and although it might seem quite a leap for a man with a Test bowling average of 8 to not look back, the message struck a real chord for three-Test hero Boland.
“It’s a pretty good lesson for me and something I should do more and focus on what’s ahead,” said Boland.
“Because if you get stuck in the past you can get chewed up pretty quickly.”
Australian cricket great Shane Watson and his nine-year-old son Will — a huge Boland fan — also made the journey to Uluru as the ICC men’s Twenty20 World Cup trophy makes its pilgrimage around the country before Australia kicks off its campaign on October 22 at the SCG against New Zealand, with tickets already on sale.
Watson said Boland’s extraordinary story was an inspiration, but also a challenge to the game to do better.
“It’s sad in a way that there are still a number of parts of Australia where cricket’s not really played,” Watson said.
“It’s extremely disappointing that cricket hasn’t been able to really venture into Indigenous communities. We see the incredible athletes in the AFL and NRL, and it’s shocking to hear that only two men (Boland and Jason Gillespie) with Indigenous background have played Test cricket for Australia.
“Being here at Uluru with Scott, knowing his heritage, it’s very special to be able to share that experience with him.
“That’s the beauty of the tour, to bring the World Cup trophy which the Aussies are defending champions, to areas where cricket isn’t necessarily played and spread the game of cricket.”
Boland only discovered his Aboriginal ancestry in his young 20s but the way he has embraced it is an inspiration to thousands of kids and families around Australia, according to Nyangatjara College teacher, Mel Hargraves.
“I think it’s so great that he’s owning it and celebrating it because there was a lot of oppression — people didn’t speak about it, and his own family didn’t really speak about it,” said Hargraves.
“Everyone goes on about how everyone is ‘claiming it’ (Aboriginality) so they can do this and that, but they’re not talking about the people who are either ashamed of it or can’t speak up because of their families. I think he is setting a really good example of positively embracing his history and identifying.
“The community here are big AFL fanatics, so it’s huge for successful Indigenous sports people to come here from other codes, because you just never know, you just might expose someone to something where they go, ‘wow.’
“Scott has donated all his gear here which the kids will love.”
Tickets for the T20 World Cup start at $20 for adults and $5 for children and are available now at T20worldcup.com
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Originally published as Cricket 2022: Scott Boland on a mission to take national game to the heart of Australia
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