Australia Doing Its Bit For The Love Of The Game
Australia is famous for its beaches; it’s barbecues, and the putting of beetroot on a hamburger. But that’s not all – Australia is also famous for not caring two hoots and a penny about emerging Cricket test teams. Until now, that is. Until Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has only recently become a firm possibility once more – with recent pay disputes between Cricket Australia and the ACA threatening to sink the bucket and its contents. The players received the good news on Thursday – that they had gotten what they had asked for. The revenue-sharing model is here to stay and woman cricketers are to be included for the very first time.
The protracted rumble over earnings had been raging for months before the agreement was reached on Thursday and has seriously thwarted relationships between players and the cricket governing body. More than 230 professional players had been effectively unemployed since the end of June of this year and emotions were quite understandably running on high.
Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland responded by saying that the agreement was successfully reached as a result of compromises from both sides – as well as a realisation that failure to settle would damage relationships with players, and ultimately pro-cricket in Australia, beyond repair.
Accusations Of A Snobbish Approach
Australia has long been accused of being the snob in the International Cricket mix – due to certain nit-picking tendencies as far as playing test cricket against “lesser” teams are concerned.
Since Bangladesh’s admittance to test cricket, Australia has played them only a total of four times in tests – and has toured to Bangladesh only once during the scope of twelve years.
New Zealand and India have previously voiced similar complaints regarding Australia’s reluctance to play emerging teams. As did Zimbabwe. When Zimbabwe entered into the test cricket arena, a senior Australian cricket official was famously quoted as saying that Australia supported the Zimbabwe’s inclusion in test cricket, but in a “non-playing” sense.
New Zealand’s sad story bests even that of the African country. Australia played but a singular test match against New Zealand in the run-up to the Kiwis’ tour of Australia in 1973. When? Shortly after the Second World War.
India seems to be enjoying having their cake and eating it. Another former bullet on the list of Australia’s snobbish refusals, India now effectively rules the world of cricket – and seems to be tapping great delight from their newfound status by doing a bit of the pushing around themselves.
Hopefully Bangladesh signals a new leaf having been turned in Cricket Australia’s book of snob-ism.
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