Nightcliff Cricket Club scores tech boost to strengthen the grassroots game

Aussie Broadband is thrilled to announce Nightcliff Cricket Club is a recipient of its 2026 Community Cricket Tech Fund, launched earlier this year in collaboration with Cricket Australia.  

The 36 clubs that were successful in this year’s round of $100,000 grants had the option to choose between either 12 months of free fixed broadband connectivity (100/20 or 500/50), or 12 months of free 5G data SIM and a Samsung S11 ultra tablet.  

“Community clubs like the Nightcliff Cricket Club play a vital role in growing the game from the grassroots level. With the landmark Australia and Bangladesh Test match having wrapped in Darwin, it’s a timely reminder of cricket’s ability to connect and inspire communities right across the country,” said Aussie Broadband Chief Financial Officer Darren Rowland. 

Formed in 1968, the Nightcliff Cricket Club is made up of five senior grades, four junior grades (with eight junior sides), and a Woolworths Blast where they compete in Territory Cricket.  

E-scoring adoption statistics provided by Northern Territory Cricket reveal that 83.11% of matches across community cricket in the Northern Territory are live-scored using a device with an internet connection. Statistics also revealed that in 2025/26 there were 1,825 participants between the ages of 5 to 12 years old across community cricket in the Northern Territory, 23% more than the year prior.    

“The development of online connectivity for local cricket has been great for promoting our club and engaging people away from Nightcliff to follow our progress. However, these technological advances do come at a cost to clubs especially when multiple sides are playing at the same time. With the growth in playing numbers, especially in female and junior categories, the demand for internet ready devices to support participation requirements is ever increasing, especially as our older hardware become obsolete,” said Nightcliff Cricket Club Treasurer Andrew Innes. 

“This support from Aussie Broadband is fantastic in assisting in this challenge. Not only has it provided the club with a state-of-the-art device but covered the cost of operating it for a year. Without this generous support from Aussie Broadband the club would have been required to fund acquisition of additional devices from its own resources – a cost which would have impacted funding for other operational demands or been supported by increased cost on members.” 

The Community Cricket Tech Fund will run for an additional two years. Any clubs that were unsuccessful in their initial applications will have the opportunity to reapply towards the end of 2026.