WA Cricket is proud to share its Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), reinforcing the organisation’s vision to create a community that champions respect, belonging and equal opportunity for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across WA.
Developed by WA Cricket’s RAP Working Group and the WA Aboriginal Cricket and Cultural Advisory Committee (WAACCAC), the Innovate RAP assists, consolidates and continues the solid foundation of actions completed in WA Cricket’s Reflect RAP.
The 55-page document, formally endorsed by Reconciliation Australia, covers the period of April 2024 to April 2026 and centres on implementing innovative change.
It details more than 60 actions and deliverables relating to relationships, respect and opportunities, all of which support WA Cricket’s purpose of connecting WA communities through cricket.
Additionally, the Innovate RAP outlines key learnings from the Reflect RAP and demonstrates how staff at WA Cricket have developed a deeper understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
Steven Goodall, Interim Co-Chair of WAACCAC, believes the new Innovate RAP strongly reflects the values of WA Cricket’s 2022-23 Reflect RAP.
“The WA Cricket RAP continues to be a positive step forward for cricket and demonstrates a genuine commitment to achieving positive outcomes across the wider Aboriginal community and build on what has already been achieved,” Mr Goodall said.
“The RAP program’s strength is its framework of relationships, respect and opportunities, allowing an organisation to strategically set its reconciliation commitments in line with its own business objectives, for the most effective outcomes.
“Our sport cricket is inclusive for families, friends, and the wider community and we must continue to have a positive impact on education, housing, employment and health while also allowing people to develop leadership skills.”
Aboriginal Kit Designs
Western Australian Aboriginal Playing Shirt
Artwork
This artwork represents the coming together of our teams from the seven regions we recruit from. It showcases the WACA meeting place in the middle, the Darling Ranges and the Derbarl Yerrigan which is the river that runs through the Perth metro area. This is the place of the rainbow serpent, the creator of our land back home. The boomerangs include the emu (waitj) and kangaroo (yonga) tracks which represent the Australian Coat of Arms.
About the Artist | Kevin Bynder
Kevin was born in Perth in 1975 to a Whadjuk-Yuet Nyoongar Mother and a Widi-Badimia Yamatji Father. He started painting at the age of 23 in Fitzroy Crossing before moving to Broome where he had his first art studio. In February 2020, Kevin made the decision to become a full-time working artist and opened a studio/shop at Yagan Square in Perth. Over the last four years Kevin has worked at LaSalle Catholic College, helping teach Indigenous students from remote communities. Kevin likes to donate his artwork to foundations and fundraisers to support the community and promote aboriginal arts and culture. As well as selling hundreds of canvases and painting multiple murals across Perth, his designs have appeared on the sporting guernseys of Australia’s leading sporting codes.
Perth Scorchers Aboriginal Playing Shirt
Artwork
The design was created by Joshua James, in collaboration with Perth Scorchers players and WA Cricket staff.
Titled Dandjoo Derbarl Bilya, which translates to ‘coming together along the Swan River’, it reflects the shared input of key contributors including batter and Kunja woman Mikayla Hinkley and allrounder Aaron Hardie, who provided elements they wished to see incorporated. Aboriginal artist Joshua James has brought the design to life through his unique blend of traditional and contemporary styles.
The colours used reflect the Scorchers’ identity and are widely recognised across Western Australia.
The Swan River (Derbarl Bilya) runs through the centre of the design, with the WACA Ground to the west and Optus Stadium – known to the Scorchers family as “The Furnace” – to the east. Between them lies the Matagarup Bridge, symbolising the connection between Perth Scorchers’ two home grounds.
Surrounding each venue are symbols representing people gathering. Inside each, a strong campsite symbol draws inspiration from the yarning circle and represents “lighting the flame”, reflecting a sense of unity, purpose and collective strength.
Within the Derbarl Bilya, songlines acknowledge the many generations of players and supporters who have shaped WA Cricket’s story.
In the lower right corner, a yarning circle of four figures represents the values raised during the design process: bravery, family, support and community.
The background features circles symbolising Aboriginal communities throughout Western Australia. Varying colours reflect the different levels of cricket – junior, community, remote and high performance – celebrating the strength of WA Cricket’s pathways and its commitment to inclusivity across the game.
About the Artist | Joshua James
Joshua James is a proud Noongar Wardandi, Bibulmun Maaman from Noongar Wardandi Gnalla Karla Boodja and Bibulmun Boojarah Boodja in Western Australia.
He is an Aboriginal artist whose inspiration comes from sharing his culture and stories through both traditional and contemporary designs.
Joshua’s passion lies in creating works that allow people to connect with, celebrate and embrace the world’s oldest living culture.
WA Cricket's Cultural Narrative
WA Cricket is undertaking a WACA Ground Improvement Project (WGIP) with a vision to create a community and sporting hub, with cricket at its heart. WA Cricket is implementing a cultural narrative that infuses Aboriginal culture into the planning and design process in recognition of the traditional owners of the land on which the WACA Ground resides.
Dr. Richard Walley OAM has written a detailed cultural narrative that will inform decisions on artistic and landscaping choices for the WGIP. The Ground will link Aboriginal cricket history, tell our cricket story through murals, local Aboriginal artwork as well as exhibitions in the new museum. Central to the WGIP’s new plaza will be a Mandala that depicts the stories of the surrounding area and WA Cricket’s place within that. The overall theme of the mandala artwork is one of past, present, and future; about the land, the people that have lived, played and used the land surrounding the WACA Ground. The mandala artwork will also feature on WA Cricket staff shirts.
Aboriginal Cricket Programs and Resources
Aboriginal Cricket
WA Cricket and the WA Aboriginal Cricket Advisory Committee (WAACAC) support many programs for Aboriginal communities that target all areas of the cricket pathway, from grassroots through to the high-performance level.
Many of these programs, supported by the WA Cricket Foundation, help engage young Aboriginal people in cricket and build their skills and love of the game.
Inclusion and Diversity Club Resources
Click here for resources for clubs looking to be more active in this space.