IT'S a long road to anywhere in this part of the world.
The children at Jabiru Public School must travel 200 kilometres to find their nearest opponents for a cricket match. The children in Oenpelli don't know much of a world beyond their dusty town - let alone the game of cricket.
Seasoned travellers Michael Hussey and Nathan Bracken have some serious ink in their passports but a visit to outback Australia yesterday will be stamped in their memories as the most rewarding of experiences.
Along with junior squad member Moises Henriques, the players toured the Northern Territory's Kakadu and Arnhem Land to spread the game. They discovered that some young Aborigines are blessed with every natural gift a cricketer could ask for.
It was jaw-dropping to witness Oenpelli youngsters - barely waist-high and most never having held a cricket bat - play the game barefoot on a steaming plain of red earth.
Hand-eye co-ordination was premium among this bunch, and their development of skill grew with each turn at batting or bowling. In the field they showed a spatial awareness well beyond their size and experience, scooping the ball and hitting the stumps over and over from up to 10 metres away. The Cricket Australia officials watching on shook their heads in disbelief.
"It's a genuine fact that they love sport and getting involved," Bracken said. "The AFL has tapped into these areas for a lot of players, and they've shown the sort of talent that is around here. This [cricket clinic] gives them something else. Some of the things these kids were doing, you don't see that very often. Now it's about making them believe they have an opportunity to do something with that talent."
One Oenpelli boy had to be coaxed by Bracken to bowl a delivery - an action completely unfamiliar. He eventually did, and sent the ball straight towards the stumps at a beautiful height. After two more such deliveries, he was an expert, and began advising his friends on the correct technique of pace bowling.
In Jabiru, the youngsters are more accustomed to cricket and the school boasts some fine players. Trouble is, they are often forced to play among themselves.
Of the 300 students at the school, roughly half are indigenous. Principal Peter Swan said the game had taken off in recent years. "This is great for the kids because they get a message that you have really got to work and strive hard to do the best at whatever you do."
The cricketers visited Jabiru first, where the players conducted various skills-based games. "I didn't see one catch go down," Henriques said. "So many young kids here are seriously talented athletes, two out of three are talented athletes. Back where I'm from [in Sydney] it's more like one in six. It is amazing - and the girls are just as good as the guys."
From Jabiru it was on to Oenpelli via a four-wheel-drive minibus. To get there, the players had to cross the East Alligator River. In 1988 one man met a gruesome fate while trying to cross the river after a few too many beers.
One local said: "He was showin' off, sayin' he could make it across. He got up towards the bank and a five-metre croc jumped up and snapped and decapitated him. The body floated down the river and the croc just ate the head."
There was a slight delay yesterday because the tide was too high for the vehicle to cross. The group watched as nine crocodiles glided about, splashing frequently as they'd catch the fish swimming with the tide.
"It is just amazing to see them in their natural environment," Bracken said.
On reaching Oenpelli, Bracken played an impromptu game of basketball with local youngsters and a twenty-something man known as "Young Father", who didn't bother removing the cigarette from his mouth as he dribbled around the court.
Then it was on to cricket, with Cricket Australia contributing a set of cricket gear to the community and, after 30 minutes the players had seen enough to realise the potential goldmine of talent that lies in this far away part of the world.
Hussey hung back to take photos, pondering what he had seen. "They are so naturally talented," he said.
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff