As our cricket team goes, so goes nation
THE Australian cricket team’s embarrassing defeats in India suggest our national sport suffers a deep cultural malady. No longer are pride, preparation and resilience considered core values.
It’s not as though India was an unknown quantity. Indian pitches are famous for spin and their bowlers are skilled at exploiting them. And yet armed with this knowledge, Australia went to India lacking match practice and with a team consisting of three injured players and David Warner – who, before the tour, publicly declared he was mentally and physically exhausted.
On predictably unpredictable surfaces, the underprepared Australians were all at sea. They seemed incapable of executing fundamental batting techniques suited to the conditions. The Indians exhibited no such weaknesses. When it was time to chase down Australia’s meagre score they demonstrated grit and a straight bat and were rewarded.
These defeats prompt questions as to where Australian cricket’s head is at. It looks as though politics has infiltrated leadership, causing fans to wonder if they are witnessing a version of “go woke, go broke”.
Cricket Australia and captain Pat Cummins seem susceptible to political correctness. They publicly acknowledged that the men’s cricket team had fallen behind in recognition and education about racial injustice. Who knew it was their role?
The captain also decided not to feature as an ambassador for Cricket Australia’s biggest backer, Alinta Energy, and cautioned CA and other sporting bodies not to accept commercial sponsorships that did not align with the values of players.
In publicly promoting the latest political agenda, cricket is far from alone. Government bureaucracies, places of learning and worship, the courts, health, other sports and even the military are intent on parading their woke credentials. Assisted by support from the media, woke narratives now substitute for facts.
Indeed, it is reasonable to conclude that what is happening to cricket is a metaphor for what currently ails the nation.
In recent years, Australia has become a divided society increasingly lacking in self-confidence. Issues like climate change, oppression of minorities and the growing acceptance of the black armband view of history, have weakened confidence in who we are as a nation.
National pride has become synonymous with white supremacy. Australia Day and Anzac Day are now presented as anniversaries of shame rather than celebrations of national success and the triumph of freedom over tyranny.
Cricket seems to align with this. What might happen next?
Having adopted a censorious attitude towards Alinta, CA could now demonstrate further commitment to emissions reduction by demanding an end to power-consuming day/night matches.
Despite their good intentions, CA’s political stance may have unintended consequences.
It is still early days, but it’s possible that cricket may yet fall victim to spin both on and off the field.