Published: 10th April, 2018

Surrey County Cricket Club will welcome Australia’s best Indigenous cricketers to the Kia Oval in June – 150 years after an Aboriginal team became the first side to tour internationally.

Women’s and men’s squads will tour the UK for the first two weeks of June, with both to face a Surrey XI in a T20 double header at the Kia Oval on Thursday 7th June under the banner of the ‘2018 Aboriginal XI.’

Speaking on the opportunity to host an Aboriginal XI, Surrey Chief Executive Richard Gould said: “The opportunity to host this special touring side and pay tribute to one of the great days in the history of our ground, on the 150th anniversary of the first tour, is really exciting and something we’re all looking forward to very much.

“I hope Surrey Members and fans will come and support this game and make it another occasion to remember for everyone involved.”

Ashleigh Gardner and Dan Christian will lead the respective Australian sides against several of the same opposition from the original tour including Sussex, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and the MCC.

In 1868, the Aboriginal players started their trip to the UK with an innings defeat to Surrey at the Oval on 25 May, before touring the country. They returned twice more to the Oval with a drawn match in September and a nine-wicket defeat in October, the final match of the tour.

In 2018, the 13 male players travelling will proudly represent one of those pioneers each on tour by displaying their name on the back of their kit. The female squad will wear their own names on their back, being pioneers as the first female Indigenous team to tour the UK.

Across the two Aboriginal squads there are four players who currently or have previously represented Australia – Christian, Gardner, D’Arcy Short and Scott Boland – and a further six players on WBBL, BBL or State contracts last season.

In addition to the matches, players will engage in activities pre-tour and in the UK to further connect with the significance of the 1868 events as they take over the reigns as story tellers to future generations of Indigenous cricketers.

Teams will visit a temporary display at the MCC Museum at Lords that explores the history of the 1868 tour. The Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter is lending Aboriginal artefacts, newly identified from the 1868 cricket tour to the UK, for display at Lord’s throughout the 2018 season.

In 1868, all-rounder Bripumyarrimin (King Cole) tragically passed away in the UK. Both Aboriginal squads will also visit his place of rest in London to pay their respects.

You can follow the latest news about the tour, set to begin at Arundel on 5th June, with the Twitter hashtag #walkaboutwickets. We will also have more on kiaoval.com ahead of the historic occasion at the Kia Oval on 7th June.