Commonwealth Bank and Cricket Australia have today announced the renewal of its long-running partnership for a further three years, extending its commitment to the game at all levels.
Partnering with Cricket Australia for more than 30 years, Commonwealth Bank has had a significant impact on many touch points across the game. In particular, the bank has worked with Cricket Australia since 1999 to help grow the women’s game across the entire pathway – from community all the way up to the Australian team.
In the past five years, Commonwealth Bank’s investment has been particularly transformative, supporting the role models who inspire young girls to pick up a bat and ball, along with the clubs who nurture their progress. Since 2016, it has supported and contributed to the development of 70+ girls only leagues including:
- More than 1,200 girls only junior club teams, which is a five-fold increase;
- More than 70 per cent growth in girls registered for club cricket and entry-level programs; and
- More than 40 per cent growth in girls’ school competitions prior to the impact of COVID-19.
Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia’s chief executive officer, said: “We are incredibly grateful for all the support that Commonwealth Bank has given to cricket over the past 30 years and it is so exciting to continue our partnership at this time of tremendous growth and opportunity for the women’s game.”
“Through our shared commitment to ensuring that cricket is a sport for all, we look forward to working with Commonwealth Bank to bring people together and make a positive impact in the community.”
Ellyse Perry, Australian all-rounder and Commonwealth Bank ambassador, said: “The partnership between Commonwealth Bank and Cricket Australia is so important for the continued growth of our game.”
“It has helped to create more opportunities for girls to play the game and has inspired them to pick up a bat and ball, have a go, and join their local club.”
Over the next three years, Commonwealth Bank plans to continue its investment into the women’s game by promoting gender equity throughout the entire pathway – from elite to community. It will continue to elevate the women’s game and will help to provide more opportunities for girls to play through ‘The Next Innings: Accelerating Female Participation’ strategy.
In addition to growing the game for women and girls, Commonwealth Bank has also shown its commitment to helping cricket become a sport for all by investing in cricket’s diversity and inclusion programs since 2017-18, leading to:
- 23 per cent growth in participation among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;
- 29 per cent growth in participation among people with a disability; and
- 24 per cent growth in participation among culturally diverse communities.
Monique Macleod, CBA Group Executive of Marketing and Corporate Affairs, said: “We are committed to supporting the many initiatives of Cricket Australia and opening the game up to more and more Australians.”
“Our goal is for cricket to be a sport for all and we hope to achieve this over the next three years by funding not only the women’s game, but also delivering targeted initiatives to engage diverse and inclusive teams and communities.”
Commonwealth Bank is committed to continuing to provide fully funded international tours for cricket’s national teams for players with a disability, when COVID permits. The teams will be supported with tailored training programs and national camps and will leverage cricket’s expert high performance networks. At a community level, CBA funding will provide more playing opportunities for diverse communities as well as provide support to clubs to help them become even more inclusive.
The partnership extension comes ahead of Australia’s Commonwealth Bank Women’s Series against India, which begins in Mackay on Tuesday, 21 September.
