Australian cricketers pledging up to $2M towards bushfire affected communities.

13 February, 2020

Australian cricketers are providing up to $2 million through the Grassroots Cricket Fund to support the many cricket clubs and cricket communities impacted by 2019/20 bushfire emergency re-establish their clubs and get back on their feet.

The Fund - set aside by the players from their share of the game's revenue - has already helped support a number of cricket clubs impacted by drought and is administered by the Australian Cricketers' Association and Cricket Australia.

The players' contribution will go towards the dedicated Community Bushfire Recovery Fund established by Cricket Australia and is in addition to the $2 million CA has already contributed to support impacted clubs and associations across Australia.

This comes on top of Moises Henriques and Glenn Maxwell announcing on Saturday that through the ACA on behalf of all players, male and female, they will donate the value of tonight's BBL winner's cheque ($160,000) to the Bushfire Appeal.

CEO of the Australian Cricketers' Association, Alistair Nicholson said:

"Cricket clubs are the social structures of their communities. They connect people with each other, so it's crucial for everyone that clubs right around the country exist and prosper.

"The players have been taken aback by the scale and devastation of this disaster and have already shown incredible generosity from their own pockets by donating to a variety of bushfire relief causes both publicly and privately.

"The $2 million contribution draws from the Grassroots Cricket Fund through which players have committed $30 million over the next five years to give back to the communities that have shaped the players into the cricketers they are today."

Strathewen | Stories From The Grassroots Cricket Fund

Victorian skipper and Strathewen local Peter Handscomb was at Strathewen C.C to see first-hand the damage caused to the club by the Black Saturday Bushfires, and how the $30M Grassroots Cricket Fund - donated by the players into the grassroots - is helping to rebuild the club

© Australian Cricket Players Limited
Photos courtesy of Getty Images
The Australian Cricketers’ Association acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders both past and present.