Australia v India T20 series: D’Arcy Short hopes wearing Indigenous shirt sends inspirational message

The image of D’Arcy Short walking out to bat on Friday night in an Indigenous shirt is an inspirational message of hope in a game where Aboriginal stars are few and far between.

D'Arcy Short can’t wait to wear his Indigenous short on Friday.

It’s not just the Stolen Generation who have suffered in Australia, it’s the ‘Shielded Generation’ as well.

Into this category falls new Australia opener D’Arcy Short, who will proudly wear the first ever Indigenous strip worn by the men’s national cricket team in Friday night’s Twenty20 against India.

Short was not told he was Indigenous until he was 15 years of age, because his family wanted to protect him from experiencing the pain and discrimination they were subjected to growing up Aboriginal.

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D'Arcy Short can’t wait to wear his Indigenous short on Friday.

On Monday, Short stood in front of his teammates and relayed to them the “heartache and torment” his great nana must have lived through for her and his mother to fear that his identity as a person could still be a burden for him in modern Australia.

Only six Aboriginals have ever represented Australia in the national sport, and the image of proud Mitakoodi man Short walking out to bat on Friday night in an Indigenous shirt is an inspirational message of hope.

“I found out quite late, when I was 14 or 15 that I was Indigenous,” Short told News Corp.

“I guess it was the heartache and torment that my great nana and her family went through at that time.

“She didn’t want that to happen to us.

“It’s pretty heartbreaking that that was the way it was.

“She was just looking out for us and didn’t want us to go through the pain they went through.

“My childhood growing up wasn’t anything like what hers was, but it hits close to home that this happened to my great nana and her family.”

D'Arcy Short has an attentive audience in Glenn Maxwell.

Short spent his teenage years asking his mother about his heritage and slowly piecing together information about himself and his Indigenous culture.

“I embraced it and I’m still learning to this day.”

Short has not played a Twenty20 international for Australia in more than 18 months, and it’s a powerful moment for Australian cricket that Friday night in Canberra should mark his return.

Australia will wear a strip called ‘Walkabout Wickets’, where the black represents the warrior’s symbol of strength and standing with one another, a representation of thousands of years of men leading, fighting, educating and standing for community.

This is what Short wants to be as a role model for his people.

“For this to be the first time the men’s Australian team is going to be wearing it, I’m just proud and honoured to be part of it and proud I get one of these shirts to hold onto and remember it by. Friday is going to be a pretty special night and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life,” said Short.

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“I try to be an inspiration to all young kids. Showing there’s a pathway there for you to be involved in cricket whether you’re a young kid or an Indigenous kid. I’d love to see more Indigenous players play in state cricket and for Australia.”

Short experienced racism as a young cricketer similar to what fellow Indigenous cricketer Dan Christian has detailed around the lighter colour of his skin and “the fact I don’t look Aboriginal, or whatever that means” – as Christian put it.

D'Arcy Short last played for Australia 18 months ago in South Africa.

Short says: “While some people might think it’s not racism, it actually is and it’s something people need to be aware of keep learning about.”

Growing up in Darwin, where international cricket scarcely ever comes to town, Short remembers going out to watch Jason Gillespie – still Australia’s only Indigenous male Test player.

Gillespie says the baton has now been passed and declared Short a role model that can help education a nation on Friday night in all black.

“Darce is a proud Aboriginal man. It’s great to show our country has a very long history, well before settlement a couple of hundred years ago,” said Gillespie.

“Our culture and our country is a lot older than that. It’s great that’s being acknowledged and hopefully it will start that conversation and potential education on our history as a nation.

“The effect we can have on kids just from seeing you living your dream, and then years later living their dream is a pretty nice feeling. It shows what our game is all about and what it means to people.”