Cricket Australia considering to punish Australia U19 cricketers for mocking non-native English speakers on social media

Three-time U19 champions Australia were in for trouble off the ground in South Africa after some of their players sparked off a controversy by using “inappropriate language” against non-native English speakers on social media. The 2018 finalists lost to defending champions India in the quarter-finals in Potchefstroom by 74 runs on Tuesday.

It all happened when the Australian cricketers commented on an Instagram post that seemingly made fun of fans from the sub-continent which has a huge following for cricket. The comments belonged to a number of players from the squad, including Sam Fanning, Liam Scott, Oliver Davies, and Tanveer Sangha. Cricket Australia found the remarks to be “inappropriate”.

The sarcastic remarks came after Fraser-McGurk shared on Instagram his excitement at his team making the quarter-finals by finishing second after the West Indies in Group B.

“Quarter Finals here we come,” Fraser-McGurk wrote.

“Sir, give me whatsapp number I want to be friend,” Scott commented.

“You hit ball very hard sir,” Sangha wrote.

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— Anirudh Anand (@ani_21312) January 29, 2020

Cricket Australia (CA) Integrity Chief Sean Caroll said the governing body came to know about the incident on Wednesday and added that CA is “extremely disappointed” with the colts’ behavior and will consider sanctions when they return from SA.

“We are extremely disappointed that some of the Australian under-19 squad members have used inappropriate language in posts on social media, which we reported to the ICC as soon as it came to our attention,” Caroll told The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.

“Some of that language could be interpreted as ridiculing non-native English language speakers.

“I have spoken to the players this morning and expressed in no uncertain terms that such language has no place in society and falls well short of the standards we expect as Australian cricketers,” he said, adding that players apologised for their language and took down the posts.

“Cricket Australia will consider sanctions upon their return home from South Africa, which will include but not be limited to education and cultural sensitivity training.”

Two years ago, Australia seniors landed in trouble in SA

It may be mentioned here that Australia’s national team found itself in deep trouble in South Africa less than two years ago after some of its top members, including the then captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner, indulged in ball-tampering in a Test match. The incident saw both Smith and Warner losing their posts and also getting banned for a year each. The incident has in fact terribly impacted Australian cricket.

Australia’s mission to win their fourth title was ended by their defeat to India and they will now play for the fifth position.