The 19-year-old, who plays for Parramatta, is from Kempsey on the NSW mid-north coast and was a valued member of the United All Blacks Cricket Club. He plans to become a top coach who will one day help instil a greater passion for cricket among Australia's indigenous people.

He laughed at the notion of being joined at the hips with the Sixers coaching staff of Trevor Bayliss, Geoff Lawson, Trent Johnston and Matthew Mott as he learns philosophies to would be shared with players from Kempsey, Macksville, Bowraville and as far west as Moree.

"Plenty of questions," he said of his upcoming stint. "I only recently graduated from St Gregory's College at Campbelltown, where they speak of Dan Christian being the only Australian cricket representative from the school . . . I'm hoping to be the second.

"I love playing but I'm just as passionate about trying to engage the indigenous community to play cricket. I've done a lot of work in places like Moree in partnership with Cricket NSW and [the Department of] Sport and Recreation and can see a growth in the numbers of indigenous kids playing because they've been engaged."

While he is obsessed with cricket because "it's a game that's played with a spirit of mateship and shared experiences",  Russell said former NRL player Preston Campbell was his role mode.

He hopes to follow the lead of the 2001 Dally M medallist – that year considered to be the NRL's best player – and contribute to indigenous sport.

"I look up to cricketers like Michael Clarke and 'Davey' [David] Warner but one person who really inspires me is Preston Campbell.

"He's done a lot from the indigenous perspective by doing such things as creating the Indigenous All Stars match and other positive contributions to the community.

"I've never met him but I understand he's a good bloke, a champion. I followed him when he played but I've really been inspired by his achievements off the field."

The aim of the BBL community rookie contract is to acknowledge the varied needs of Australia's diverse communities and to ensure cricket is a sport for all. It engages a player for development purposes from a rural, indigenous, low socio-economic or non-English speaking background.

"We were introduced to Brett by our game development department, who saw something unique in what he was trying to achieve," Sixers general manager Dom Remond said.

"For a young man to be so invested in developing cricket within indigenous communities is great for the sport and we're really looking forward to having Brett with us this season."

The Sixers also recruited promising Canberra batsman Matt Condon, who recently scored a century against World Cup qualifiers Ireland.

The 18-year-old  plays for Easts in the Sydney grade competition and is being coached by his first cricket hero, Michael Bevan.

"Apparently when I was three or four I was running around with little Michael Bevan signature pads, yellow pads, I would never take them off ... apparently he was my favourite player when I was real little," Condon told Fairfax Media.

The Sydney Sixers will kick off their Big Bash League season with a fan day and Twenty20 trial match at Drummoyne Oval on Sunday.

The Sixers will play the SCG XI in a Twenty20 match starting at 5pm. Entry is free.