Pat Cummins weighs in on Australia Day cricket controversy
Pat Cummins has weighed in on Cricket Australia’s refusal to commemorate Australia Day at the Gabba test match in Brisbane on Friday.
Cricket Australia revealed it would not refer to the national day during the second Test between Australia and the West Indies on January 26 after consultation with its Indigenous advisory board (NATSICAC).
Instead, an “acknowledgement” will be made in passing by the ground announcer, highlighting that the day holds different meaning to different Australians.
Responding to Cricket Australia’s decision at a press conference today, Cummins said he supported choosing “a better date” to hold celebrations.
“My personal opinion is I absolutely love Australia,” the Australian Test captain told reporters.
“I think it’s the best country in the world by a mile and I think we should have an Australia Day but I think we can probably find a more appropriate day to celebrate it.”
He acknowledged the debate surrounding Australia Day was “delicate”.
“I think it’s hard, something like January 26, it does mean different things to different people,” he said.
“I think we’re all in unison, we absolutely love Australia and feel really lucky and privileged to be in this country but it is a delicate one and is going to be a tough day for some.”
Cricket Australia’s decision follows the lead of the Australian Open which signalled it would not hold Australia Day celebrations for the second year in a row.
The push has attracted fierce criticism, with NSW Premier Chris Minns yesterday urging the sporting bodies to “revisit” their position.
Speaking to 2GB’s Ben Fordham today, Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley agreed January 26 was “a great national holiday” but he wanted to ensure everyone felt welcome.
“We are not precluding anybody celebrating Australia, we’re not boycotting Australia Day,” he said.
“We are playing Test cricket. We encourage people to come to the cricket and celebrate.”
But the chief executive became stuck when Fordham compared the decision to “celebrating Christmas without the mention of Santa”.
After a short pause, Hockley replied: “I think I’ve explained the position that we’ve taken over the past four to five years,” Hockley said after a short pause.
He said accepted the handling of the situation had upset some people but maintained it was “certainly not our intention”.
“Our intention is for people to come and enjoy the cricket,” he said.
