The Australian women’s cricket team will no longer be officially known as the Southern Stars in move to boost gender equality in the game.
The side, ranked No.1 in the world, will instead be referred to as the Australian Women’s Cricket Team in Cricket Australia communication.
“This move may appear symbolic, but it does carry considerable weight,” Cricket Australia chairman David Peever said.
“Cricket cannot hope to be a sport for all Australians if it does not recognise the power of words, and the respect for women that sits behind such decisions.”
CA expects the Southern Stars moniker will be used colloquially, but changes will include an official renaming and new logo.
“We are not dropping the Southern Stars, a wonderful brand that our cricketers have created and which will remain as an alternative name for the team,” Peever said.
“But the new naming convention demonstrates that Cricket Australia is looking at all the ways in which it operates to ensure we can meet the ambition of being a sport for all.”
Bfc
Guest
Is the name "The Southern Stars" the symbol of gender equality...will changing their "name" make a difference...? Methinks CA has bought too much mumbo jumbo. We have great women's sporting teams (most higher ranked than the male counterparts...) like the Pearls/Matildas/Jillaroos/Diamonds/Hockeyroos...Many men's teams also have 'monikers'...
Alex L
Roar Rookie
I think it's odd that so many people want to make female sporting teams and competitions an exact duplicate of the male versions, disregarding the problems the male versions have. Everyone who gave a damn knew exactly who the Southern Stars were, and who cares about the people that didn't.