Cricket NSW Region Development Manager awarded Premier’s Regional Communities Medal
Published Mon 27 Mar 2017
Cricket NSW Murray Region Development Manager Robbie Mackinlay has been awarded the Premier’s Regional Communities Medal.
He was presented with the award by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian during the annual Premier’s Harmony Day dinner at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse on Thursday (17 March).
Robbie formed the Albury Bhutanese Cricket team, made up of young Bhutanese refugees, and has also been involved with Cricket NSW and Cricket Albury Wodonga to create the 2017 inaugural Bhutanese Big Bash League.
He helped build the team from scratch, sourcing out playing equipment, helping build networks and a welcoming environment in the Albury Wodonga Cricket community, helping with skills development, promoting harmony through positive media stories and providing young refugees with kindness and love to help them feel at home.
This equipped the team with the confidence to invite fellow refugee youth from across the country to Albury. With Robbie’s help, the first bilateral series was held between Albury and Sydney Bhutanese team in December 2015 in Albury. A few months later a team from Adelaide was also invited to Albury to play another bilateral series.
The success of this series helped the Albury Bhutanese Cricket Team (ABCT) integrate into North Albury Cricket Club and build long lasting friends and immersion into Australian culture and the local cricket community.
The success of ABCT in resettlement, integration and empowerment encouraged other youth to form their own teams.
Former Lavington player Andrew Taylor has labelled Robbie Mackinlay the best cricket coach in country NSW.
“Being a Holbrook boy, I’ve had the privilege of growing up with him coaching a lot of the teams and he’s been a great coach for me,” Taylor said
“He’s heavily involved in all of the state’s elite programs and coaches the state’s second XI. All that stuff speaks for itself.”
In January 2017 ABCT, with great support from Robbie, Cricket NSW and Cricket Albury Wodonga, organised an Inaugural Bhutanese Big Bash League – a national competition inviting all Bhutanese teams from across Australia which saw youth from Cairns, Sydney, Albury, Adelaide, Melbourne and Tasmania merge into the border.
Robbie is also a highly recognised club coach at Lavington Cricket Club, specialist coach at Riverina Cricket Academy, Cricket Albury Wodonga Country Academy and was an assistant coach for the NSW Indigenous Imparja Cup team, a national Indigenous Cricket Championship in Alice Springs, three years ago.
He is also the voice of cricket in Albury Wodonga community both as a broadcaster and with the help of his extensive media network in the local region.