‘Australia Day’ row heats up after Cricket Australia bans the words ahead of 2nd Test vs West Indies at Gabba

Australia Test captain Pat Cummins has backed Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley saying January 26 is the wrong date to celebrate “Australia Day” and requested the government to choose a “better date.”

“My personal opinion is I absolutely love Australia. 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 told reporters.

“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.”

Indigenous Test players Scott Boland and Ash Gardner both had reservations about playing on the date, and has previously criticised the decision to play on January 26, describing it as a national day of mourning.

What is Cricket Australia’s stance?

Nick Hockley after being grilled by radio host Ben Fordham about the backlash has made it sure that the cricket board is not “boycotting Australia Day” 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.”

Hockley was speechless 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.

When asked for a “yes or no” answer as to whether the fans will hear the words “Australia Day” over the loudspeaker on Friday, Mr Hockley said “I don’t believe so.”

Earlier Australian Open had signalled it would not hold Australia Day celebrations for the second year in a row.

Backlash from leaders

The decision has attracted fierce backlash, with New South Wales Premier Chris Minns on Monday urged the sporting bodies to “revisit” their position.

“They should mention it. This is a day for us all to celebrate with family and friends and recognise that we live in the greatest country on earth – I’ll definitely be doing that,” Minns said while speaking to 2GB’s Ben Fordham.

“This is a day that we need to come together as a nation so I think they should reconsider their decision.”

What is Australia Day?

Australia Day began as a way to celebrate the emancipation of convicts who were brought over to Australia by British settlers. Australia Day takes place on the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet to Australian shores. On that day in 1788, eleven ships holding convicts from the United Kingdom landed on Port Jackson.

January 26 was made a public holiday in 1994.

The history of Australia Day has been a divisive topic for many years, especially the date on which it is celebrated. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples see it as inappropriate to mark a day that is so connected to the destruction of their culture and the exploitation of their ancestors and land.

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