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It is foolhardy to think that the international backlash against our cricketers is due to a commonplace misdemeanour of ball tampering. This public response is due to 50 years of abuse and disrespect hurled by the haloed ‘baggy green’ at opposition teams the world over.
It is those who preceded this team and Cricket Australia that must take the blame. The simmering loathing has just come to a head.
Our cricketers are wonderful, simple youngsters with dreams, determination and exceptional skills – like any other international cricketer.
However, you put them in the baggy green on a cricket field, and they turn into the most abusive and disrespectful team in international cricket. You put the same people in an IPL cap, and they are completely different.
This culture extends right down to the grassroots, where 12-year-olds are verbally abusing their opposition in a manner they would not dare on a school playground.
The culture must be changed, back to where it was during Donald Bradman’s era.
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It has always puzzled me as to how so many Australians were oblivious to the international sentiment and proudly upheld the sledging crown.
Clearly, James Sutherland, Steve Smith and the rest of the team are completely bewildered by the ferocity of this condemnation. Cricket Australia has been complicit with this behaviour over the years and is ultimately responsible for this public outrage.
It is time for CEO Sutherland to move aside to enable a new culture to be established.
The current team is bearing the full brunt of an international backlash for something they are not responsible. The team is disintegration due to the stress.
We must give them the support to get through this trauma. We must not put them through a public shaming exercise by exposing them to the media.
Spare the team from this ignominy.
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