Aussies abandon a nation in need
AUSTRALIA’S decision to cancel its South African tour may have been justified but it has done nothing to erase its reputation as cricket’s ultimate “I’m all right, Jack’’ nation.
Australia stomps its feet like Donald Trump losing an election when India expresses concern over quarantine measures but had no qualms about waiting until five minutes before midnight to cancel a tour which has left financially stricken South Africa in a parlous state and their cricket boss Graeme Smith inconsolable. What an unfortunate mess. Since the pandemic broke out Australia has played just two nations – India and England – while contests against Afghanistan, Bangladesh and now South Africa have been aborted.
The cynics among us would suggest there is a pattern there which has echoes of former Prime Minister Paul Keating’s quote: “When things are tough always back self interest because at least you know it will have a red hot go’’.
Medical staff insist South Africa is not safe to tour despite the fact that England recently played in Sri Lanka and are off to India, the West Indies are in Bangladesh, South Africa are touring Pakistan, Sri Lanka actually toured South Africa and Australia somehow found a way to tour England when it was in the grip of the pandemic.
Apparently, in South Africa, a bubble is no longer a bubble and it has left the locals angry and confused because they felt they had learnt from mistakes when England toured recently and had done everything possible to ensure a safe tour by insulating the players at a fivestar resort.
No one really likes to talk about it but since Test cricket began 143 years ago Australia has never come close to Mother Teresa status when it comes to helping developing or struggling nations.
Australia has been a taking rather than giving sort of nation who believes all planets should align around its summer.
When the West Indies were the hottest team in world cricket in the 1980s, Kerry Packer wanted them in Australia every season. But now they have fallen off the pedestal Australia has not played them anywhere in five years.
One of the reasons India enjoyed pushing Australia around is that it has memories of when the reverse was true.
When India was struggling to emerge as a Test nation Australia went 20 years between 1948 and 1968 without even inviting them to tour Australia.
New Zealand’s story was even more stark. Australia’s sole Test against the Kiwis just after WWII was the only time Australia played New Zealand in 43 years between their first Test against England in 1929 and the Kiwis’ tour of Australia in 1973-74.
In that time England played New Zealand in 13 different series or one-off Tests as Australia thought “I’m all right Jack .. we will leave that one to you’’.