Aussie squads come together at Lord's

The Aboriginal XI squads paid their respects to Bripumyarrimin in London on Wednesday as the women’s squad joined the men’s side in London on the ongoing commemorative tour of the United Kingdom.

Bripumyarrimin, also known as King Cole, was a member of the historic Aboriginal XI that toured the UK in 1868.

King Cole played seven matches on tour in 1868 before tragically falling ill and passing away during that tour, laid to rest in Victoria Park Cemetery which, years later, became Meath Gardens.

Following the remembrance ceremony in Meath Gardens – where a new information panel was unveiled – the Aboriginal XI squads joined the Australia men’s ODI team at Lord’s, where Tim Paine’s team have been preparing for their five-match one-day series against England.

There, the players from all three teams ate lunch together before gathering in the changerooms, where women’s captain Ashleigh Gardner and ODI squad member D’Arcy Short – who was due to be part of the indigenous tour before being called into the Australian squad – shared stories about their culture and the significance of commemorating the 1868 pioneers, who were the first sporting team from Australia to tour internationally.

“It was good to get everyone involved and into the changerooms,” Short said. “We sang the team song which is something I don’t think we’ve done before so it’s exciting times for both teams.”

The day concluded with a group photo on the field of play.

“It was really special,” Australia ODI captain Tim Paine said.

“We had a few really good speeches and then Justin Langer thought it would be good to get the whole team together to sing the song, which we only usually do after Test match wins of ODI series wins.

“There was a real sense of pride in the changerooms to have all these Australians in there, it was a really special moment.”

The Aboriginal XI squads continue their tour on Thursday, with both the women’s and men’s sides taking on Surrey at The Oval.

Matches can be followed live on cricket.com.au and on the Cricket Live app.

Fixtures

Aboriginal XI Men

5th June – Aboriginal XI v Marylebone CC @ Arundel Castle

7th June – Aboriginal XI v Surrey @ The Kia Oval

8th June – Aboriginal XI v Sussex @ The First Central County Ground

10th June – Aboriginal XI v Derbyshire @ 3aaa County Ground

12th June – Aboriginal XI v Nottinghamshire @ Trent Bridge

Aboriginal XI Women

7th June – Aboriginal XI v Surrey @ The Kia Oval

8th June – Aboriginal XI v Sussex @ The First Central County Ground

10th June – Aboriginal XI v National Cricket Conference @ 3aaa County Ground

12th June – Aboriginal XI v ECB Academy @ Trent Bridge