Pat Cummins has received widespread praise for his inclusive and classy act to allow Muslim Usman Khawaja to partake in Australia’s podium celebration after their 4-0 Ashes win.
As the Aussies went to spray champagne – a time honoured podium tradition across sports – Khawaja excused himself from the podium.
Cummins made sure the bubbles were put away and Khawaja was able to return for the team’s celebration photos.
“Usman is obviously Muslim so he doesn’t like the champagne being thrown so I just made sure he got up there and no champagne thrown,” Cummins said when asked about it later.
Khawaja is a Muslim, a faith in which the consumption of alcohol is forbidden and any association with it is frowned-upon.
The moment clearly moved Khawaja, who tweeted: “If this video doesn’t show you that the boys have my back, I don’t know what will. They stopped their normal champagne celebrations so I could rejoin. Inclusivity in the game and our values as a sport are so important. I feel like we are trending in the right direction.”
The move was similar to one made by former England skipper Alastair Cook in 2018, when they were celebrating a Test success and about to pop the champagne corks.
Cook noticed Moeen Ali was standing away from his colleagues as he did not want to be involved due to his faith.
“This might be a small gesture but this is what makes Pat Cummins great,” one fan wrote. “He realised Khawaja had to dip because of the booze and rectifies it.”
Another added: “Pat Cummins asking his teammates to stop throwing alcohol around so that Usman Khawaja can join in because of his beliefs. That’s sweet.”
Cricket writer Dan Brettig tweeted:
Cummins had a dream start to his captaincy reign and said he felt he was only going to improve.
“I’m in the team as a bowler. I want to make sure that’s protected and I’m able to perform as well as I’d like. I think with each game, I felt better at managing that.”
Cummins leant on deputy and former skipper Steve Smith to set fields and said he was able to “switch off” as captain when bowling.
“I could really … take off the captain’s hat and just be a bowler for my overs,” he said.
“Even little things around bowling changes, setting fields in between overs. As I felt like I got better at managing that as the series went on.
“That’s a hugely pleasing thing. Again, it might be difficult in the heat for longer innings. But I feel like it’s something I’m only going to get better at.”
That extra heat will come in March when Australia embark on a three-Test tour of Pakistan.
Cummins has previously said he doesn’t see himself captaining for the remainder of his career.
“For sure, there’s more scrutiny. But in terms of the actual role on the field, and conversations around the change room and those kinds of things, it is manageable,” he said after taking match figures of 7-87 at Bellerive Oval.
“It’s probably not as all-encompassing as I perhaps might have thought when I first took it on.
“But again, I think the biggest challenge is going to be ahead.
“We’re lucky. We live in an age where we’ve got incredible support staff around who take a lot of those stresses out of what a traditional captain might have had around strategy, man management, those kinds of things.”
(With AAP)
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Imagine if Usman's last name was Folau...you'd all be on here piling it on. Hypocrites.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
No one’s having a hysterical reaction Micko. If it’s obvious that someone in the group is uncomfortable about something why not make a small change if there’s an easy solution. They only spray the stuff, not drink it.
Stuckbetweenindopak
Roar Rookie
I am a muslim and i get embarrassed when they react like that.
Micko
Roar Rookie
This issue has already happened in Australia, with Khawaja & Fawad Ahmed refusing the VB logo on their ODI shirts.
Micko
Roar Rookie
As Stuckbetweenindopak points out, there's no need for a hysterical reaction. Having an alcoholic beverage touch one's skin is hardly an issue. They're just not allowed to consume these types of beverages.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Yeah, it makes me wonder why they react like that???
HR
Roar Rookie
Hashim Amla never wore a Castle Lager logo on his shirt while playing for South Africa, so there's precedent within cricket for a change to be made to a player's uniform on the basis of religion.
HR
Roar Rookie
Why not both? :stoked:
Stuckbetweenindopak
Roar Rookie
Alcohol and pork are prohibited to consume, you don't need to act phobic around theses things
Graeme
Roar Rookie
No worries thanks, I respect your opinion ????
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Great stuff Pat, but you’d think with all those support staff, media managers, diversity officers and everyone under the sun at Cricket Australia, someone might have suggested before now that maybe it would be a good idea to use non-alcoholic fizzy stuff for this ritual if you have a Muslim in your team?
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
I wasn't referring to you specifically, sorry if it came across that way. I was just speaking generally.
Graeme
Roar Rookie
OK 1/3 of the world celebrates Christmas but in the western world which I believe covers Australia, that number is far greater. I didn’t imply you say Merry Christmas to Muslims. If 1 person is allergic to crayfish, we should not all stop eating it. Cummins, Usman and team showed how it can be done.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
I’d be interested what a proper Islamic scholar would say, but strictly speaking, the Quran speaks only of ‘intoxicants’ in terms of the potential evils they bring and subsequently bans the consumption of them (intoxicants). Marrihuana, for example, would be classed as an intoxicant, but using hemp plant to make a rope is not, in my mind, the same as consuming it for a mind-altering affect. Petrol, when sniffed, can also be an intoxicant, but Islam does not forbid using modern transport.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
While no Muslims are asking Christmas celebrators not to say Merry Christmas among each other, it is poor form, and really dumb to say it to a Muslim. Poor form for ignorantly assuming that the whole world celebrates Christmas when only about 1/3 of the world’s people do, and plain dumb because it’s the same as a Muslim saying “Have a good fast (during Ramadan)” to people they know are not Muslims. It’s about worldly awareness. The western world in general seems to be more lacking and presumptuous in that regard.
Hooter
Roar Rookie
Is this a discussion thread on cricket or viniculture....? :-P
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
Where was the coach while all this was happening . Let's just make young Pat Captain/ Coach .
Rusty Brooks
Roar Rookie
Cheers, mate. They don’t make ‘em like they used to.
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
Rusty, you're still my favourite all time wrestler.
HR
Roar Rookie
Blanc de noir ("white from black") champagne is made from red grapes, almost always Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier. Blanc de blanc is made from (you guessed it) white grapes, typically Chardonnay.