Cricket NSW congratulates the 10 members of our state\u2019s cricket community who have been recognised today in the 2026 Australia Day Honours list.<\/p>\n
Cricket NSW Vice Patron and Life Member\u00a0Basil Sellers\u00a0was\u00a0awarded\u00a0the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the General Division for his distinguished service to the community through philanthropy and leadership, and to sports administration.\u00a0The honour\u00a0recognises his continued and ongoing generosity since receiving the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2003.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For 20 years, Sellers\u2019\u00a0extensive\u00a0support has provided\u00a0NSW\u2019s best\u00a0emerging male and female\u00a0cricketers\u00a0access to opportunities and skills to aid their transition to NSW contracted programs.\u00a0In all, 178 players\u00a0have received scholarships to what is now known as the Basil Sellers Emerging Player Program,\u00a0with\u00a023\u00a0of them going on to play\u00a0for Australia including\u00a0Pat Cummins, Alyssa Healy, Ellyse\u00a0Perry\u00a0and Steve Smith.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sellers\u2019\u00a0longstanding connection with Cricket NSW\u00a0dates to\u00a0his\u00a0initial\u00a0appointment to the Board\u00a0from 1984 to 1987. He was named a Life Member in 2009 and Vice Patron in 2022.\u00a0His extensive contribution to\u00a0cricket also extends to his support of adjacent organisations, most notably as a co-founder and\u00a0benefactor\u00a0of the Bradman Museum, and benefactor and Life Member of the\u00a0Sydney Cricket Ground Trust. He is also a prominent supporter of the\u00a0McGrath Foundation, Steve Waugh Foundation, Chappell Foundation and LBW Trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were two NSW-based recipients of\u00a0the Medal of the Order of Australia\u00a0(OAM)\u00a0for\u00a0services to cricket. David\u00a0Millott has devoted almost 50 years to the sport via\u00a0numerous\u00a0administrative, coaching and\u00a0playing\u00a0roles within\u00a0the Prestons Hornets Cricket Club and Fairfield Liverpool\u00a0Cricket Association.\u00a0Michael\u00a0Porter\u00a0has served the game honourably in the Armidale region\u00a0for 45 years\u00a0as an administrator, umpire, player and curator\u00a0with the Armidale District Cricket Association, Easts Cricket Club \u2013 Armidale and\u00a0other local bodies. He received the Contribution to Country Cricket award from Country Cricket NSW in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A further seven members of the NSW\u00a0cricket\u00a0community received an OAM for their services to a range of organisations.\u00a0Thomas Parker, the well-known former Head Curator of the Sydney Cricket Ground from 1997-2017\u00a0and Bankstown Oval prior, was\u00a0recognised for his service to sport as a greenskeeper. Others\u00a0recognised for their local area contributions,\u00a0including\u00a0to cricket clubs and associations,\u00a0were\u00a0Anthony Keating (Prestons), Robert Lewis (Narrabri, Quirindi, Tamworth),\u00a0Ian Mackay (Wollongong),\u00a0John Spence (Sydney Uni + Balmain-Drummoyne)\u00a0John Weeks (Maitland and Thirroul)\u00a0and\u00a0Richard Wills (Ballina).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lee Germon, Cricket NSW Chief\u00a0Executive\u00a0Officer, said:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations\u00a0to all\u00a0recipients on the\u00a02026 Australia\u00a0Day Honours\u00a0list and thank you for your exceptional contribution to cricket in NSW.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur community is indebted to the volunteers who serve the game we all love with passion,\u00a0expertise\u00a0and a tireless work ethic. Thank you for ensuring future generations continue\u00a0to\u00a0receive the opportunity to play and love cricket.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to make\u00a0mention\u00a0of Cricket NSW Vice Patron and Life Member Basil Sellers,\u00a0whose generosity has paved the way for\u00a0some of our most talented emerging players to\u00a0achieve their ambitions and potential. Thank you for\u00a0your extraordinary support \u2013 we hope\u00a0to see many more Basil Sellers Scholars\u00a0representing\u00a0our state and country.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2026\u00a0Australia Day Honours\u00a0recipients\u00a0<\/p>\n
Officers of the Order of Australia\u00a0(AO)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Basil\u00a0Alfred Darrell\u00a0Sellers\u00a0AO
For distinguished service to the community through philanthropy and leadership, and to sports administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Anthony Sean Keating
For service to the community through a range of organisations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Robert Malcolm Lewis
For service to the community of the New England Region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Ian Norman Mackay
For service to the community of the Illawarra.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0David Millott
For services to cricket.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Thomas George Parker
For service to sport as a greenskeeper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Michael Richard Porter
For service to cricket.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0John Barker Spence
For service to sport, and to the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0John William Weeks
For service to secondary education.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Richard Noel Wills
For service to veterans and their families.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cricket NSW congratulates the 10 members of our state\u2019s cricket community who have been recognised today in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44,83],"class_list":["post-437659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news","tag-text"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}