Australia's Indigenous kit for T20 World Cup revealed

Australia will wear an Indigenous-themed kit at this year's T20 World Cup, the first time an Australian cricket team has worn a playing strip representing the First Nations at a global event.

With black sleeves and a green and gold gradient on the trunk of the playing top, artwork flows around the shirt that will be worn by Aaron Finch's squad as they seek to defend the T20 World Cup on home soil later this year.

Image Id: 723BE43E1BAE4468B22C518D9A88C9A8 Image Caption: Asics artwork of Australia's T20 World Cup kit // Asics

The long-sleeved version will see the gold and green artwork extended onto the sleeves of the top, while the pants will be black and a cap will feature the colours of both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags on the brim.

The kit was designed by Aunty Fiona Clarke and Courtney Hagen, in collaboration with Asics, with the pair having previously worked together on other Indigenous designs worn by Australia.

Purchase a replica kit via the Official Cricket Shop

As in previous designs, the Walkabout Wickets artwork that has become a prominent motif is again central on the front of the shirt.

Walkabout Wicketswas painted by Clarke, a Kirrae Whurrong woman who is the great great grand-daughter of James 'Mosquito' Couzens, who played in the Aboriginal XI in a landmark match at the MCG in 1866, and also toured England in 1868, the first sporting team from Australia to play abroad.

Image Id: ADF5479E4D654861A57679E8EF44F8A0 Image Caption: Replica T20 World Cup kits are available to purchase // cricket.com.au

Clarke created the artwork ahead of the 2016 Boxing Day Test to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 1866 match, and it has been included on the collar of the Test shirt ever since.

It pays tribute to the past, present and emerging First Nations cricketers, and connection is an important theme for the kit, that is available for purchase as a replica kit.

"The overall design is to do with the process of connecting with yourself as an individual, as a team, in the community and whatever is surrounded by you ... with the river, the land, whatever you see," Clarke said.

Image Id: DD5A7CE3360D4B28BFB7227236A6768D Image Caption: The Indigenous artwork is extended onto the long sleeve version // Asics

Hagen, a Butchulla and Gubbi Gubbi woman, explained the design incorporated wickets to represent games played, and stars to signify ancestors.

"In the middle we've been able to incorporate the colours of the both of First Nations flags in Australia. So you've got the red, black and yellow, which is represents Aboriginal flag and the blue, white and green which represents the Torres Strait Islander flag."

Image Id: https://www.cricket.com.au/~/media/News/2022/03/29BolandClose?la=en&hash=CBE1A99B030B22769021D9272514A1F9ED8B56D2 Image Caption: The Walkabout Wickets logo is now a mainstay on the collar of both national sides' Test shirts // Getty

A central motif on rear of the shirt represents the First XI of the 1868 Aboriginal team that toured England.

Despite the pioneering efforts of the 1868 team, who made a perilous journey by ship to the UK and played 47 matches at venues like Lord's and The Oval, only four Indigenous men and two Indigenous women have played international cricket for Australia since the first Test in 1877.

The striking new T20 World Cup kit comes after Australia wore two separate strips during their run to the 2021 title in Dubai, the first time an Australian team had been required to produce an 'alternate' for a World Cup.

Australia's men had planned to wear a black, gold and green kit that mirrored the strip worn by the women's team that won their T20 World Cup in 2020 when the men's tournament was originally scheduled to be held in late 2020.

Image Id: 75F20098C9B343788C6688752092A774 Image Caption: First Nations flags are represented on the T20 World Cup cap for Australia // Asics

That event was subsequently postponed amid the global COVID-19 pandemic and the Asics kit – with a design inspired by the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the venue for the tournaments' final – was initially mothballed when the tournament was moved to India (and subsequently the UAE) in 2021.

It was resurrected by the men for the 2021 tournament, but the ICC ruled it too closely resembled other kits, and the 2019 ODI World Cup kit was repurposed as the 'clash' strip.

It ultimately proved to be the kit worn when Australia won the T20 World cup for the first time, beating New Zealand in the final.

Men's T20 World Cup 2022

Australia squad: Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Aaron Finch (c), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

First round

Group A: Sri Lanka, Namibia, UAE, Netherlands

Group B: West Indies, Scotland, Ireland, Zimbabwe

Super 12 stage

Group 1: Australia, Afghanistan, England, New Zealand, A1, B2

Group 2: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa, B1, A2

Australia's T20 World Cup 2022 fixtures

Oct 22: v New Zealand, SCG, 6pm AEDT

Oct 25: v 1A, Optus Stadium, 10pm AEDT

Oct 28: v England, MCG, 7pm AEDT

Oct 31: v 2B, Gabba, 7pm AEDT

Nov 4: v Afghanistan, Adelaide Oval, 7pm AEDT

Click here for a full 2022 T20 World Cup fixture

Semi-finals

Nov 9: SCG, 7pm AEDT

Nov 10: Adelaide Oval, 7pm AEDT

Final

Nov 13: MCG, 7pm AEDT