AUSTRALIAN CRICKET YOUNG LEADER OF THE YEAR GOES TO CUNNAMULLA’S HENRY LAND

AUSTRALIAN CRICKET YOUNG LEADER OF THE YEAR GOES TO CUNNAMULLA’S HENRY LAND

Henry Land was awarded the Australian Cricket Young Leader of the Year Award today on the 19th May!

The award recognizes a young person under 25 for their off-field leadership in volunteering and acknowledges their positive impact on others. It is the first time it’s gone to anyone in outback Queensland.

Henry drew posters and placed them around the southwestern Queensland outback town, desperate to find other cricket buddies to form a team. It worked, and the Cunnamulla Emus Junior Cricket team was founded, the first junior cricket team in the town for decades.

Henry was awarded the Queensland Cricket Young Leader of the Year award in April.

A humble Henry said, “This award will remind me how important my mates and community are helping me to achieve something I wanted so much, and how if you work really hard and stay committed you can achieve anything.”

Dan Kearney, Head of Participation and Club Development for QLD Cricket said, “Our volunteers who run cricket clubs are the most important pillar of cricket in QLD. They provide access to all the positives that we know comes with playing sport: creating friendships and connections, building character, and developing skills.

To see a young man like Henry take the initiative to start a cricket club and give all of his peers a chance to play is incredibly inspiring. Henry and the Cunnamulla Emus are a beautiful example of what cricket is all about, and we know they’ve got some big plans for next season so can’t wait to see what they get up to.”

Ben DeAraugo, National Volunteer Manager at Cricket Australia said, “The National Community Cricket Awards highlight the incredible contribution that volunteers make to community cricket in Australia every year. Developing strong and sustainable participation programs in regional areas can be challenging.

Henry has shown wonderful leadership in finding solutions and demonstrating that cricket is Australia’s national sport and can be played anywhere!”

Well done, Henry, we are all so proud of you and the Cunnamula Emus!