Western Australia’s Men’s and Women’s Aboriginal teams have made unbeaten starts to the National Indigenous Cricket Championships in Mackay.
WA teams in strong positions at NICC
Defending the maiden title they won in 2025, the WA Aboriginal Women’s team has continued their winning ways to start their 2026 campaign.
A strong all-round performance from Mikayla Hinkley (26* and 3-20) in the opening match helped WA to a commanding seven-wicket win over Queensland, the side they beat in last year’s final.
17-year-old Charlotte Toohey (54 off 36 balls), who Head Coach Alex Stewart predicted would have a prosperous tournament, starred in the side’s 96-run win over South Australia.
Co-captain Veronica Keen also played a starring role in the resounding victory, taking 3-3 off her four overs.
Between WA’s two wins was a match against Victoria, the only other unbeaten side in the competition, which was abandoned due to inclement weather.
WA’s final round-robin match is against New South Wales tomorrow at 7:00am, before the semi-final gets underway at 11:45am.
Star opening batter D’Arcy Short got his campaign with the WA Aboriginal Men’s team off to the best possible start in the nine-wicket win over South Australia.
Short hit 10 boundaries in his 52 off 22 to help the side chase down the victory target of 118 in 9.3 overs.
The side made it two wins from as many matches on the opening day of the tournament, beating Victoria by five wickets in a final over thriller.
An unbeaten 38 from captain Brock Larance and Elijah Dare (17*) steered WA to victory in a nervy chase.
As was the case in the Women’s competition, WA’s match on the second day of the tournament against the ACT was abandoned.
Dare’s unbeaten half-century against second-placed New South Wales by 25-runs on Thursday to embed themselves in the top two on the ladder.
The side then overcame a stern test later in the day, defeating Tasmania by six-wickets with one ball to spare.
Set 164 for victory, Short’s 57 off 39 and Dane Ugle’s 75 off 58 laid the platform for WA to chase down the target and maintain their unbeaten record.
WA now needs to win just one of their final two games against Papua New Guinea and Queensland tomorrow to secure a spot in Sunday’s final.
Through the WA Cricket Foundation, WA Cricket provides pathways and programs for Aboriginal cricketers from grassroots through to state and national representation.