Former Australian cricketers criticise CA's cultural review recommendations

Cricket Australia’s (CA) recommendations of picking a player has created a havoc among their former players, slamming the board’s efforts to restore the glory days. The cultural review which was undertaken following the Newlands’ ball-tampering scandal, the recommendations of which stated that the players’ would be taken into account in the selection procedure.

Although it is well-intended, the recommendations fail to address the uncontrollable scenarios, such that a player who is short-tempered and an in-form one, knocking the doors with tons of runs and wickets, despite which he will be denied a Baggy Green.

The review has lead to the former players, having vastly different opinions about “win at all costs” mindset. While some believe that the “win at all costs” mentality should be brought down and some believe the same four words has made the Baggy Green priceless and has produced teams who were world beaters.

Former Australian captain Allan Border was quick to come hard at the review as quoted by fox sports news, “Isn’t it about winning?” Allan Border that the plan to attack ‘wouldn’t last long’. He further added “I’m not sure what to make of all that (criticism of “winning at all costs”), because once you get to this level of sport, isn’t it all about winning?”, he questioned.

“Yes how you win is very very important, but it is about winning. I don’t think we can tolerate having 11 great blokes on the field and not winning any games. It’s not sustainable, it won’t last. How you win is very very important. You play hard and you play fair but you play to win. At this level, it’s as simple as that,” he added.

Symonds not happy with the recommendations

Former Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds criticized the recommendations strongly by saying that the current crop of Australian players are content playing limited overs cricket which is why the red-ball cricket is declining.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph he said, “As a kid growing up, you wanted to play Test cricket. The hunger, I believe is gone. Not from all the players, but some. They’re happy to go around the world and just play white-ball cricket and that,  to me, is extraordinary.

“You’ve got to come up with something, you’ve got to be seen while making an effort” he added further. And it’s a bit corny, isn’t it? That is not the Australian cricket way, in my opinion. They could’ve come up with something a lot better than that, or as I said they need to sit down and nut some of these things out,” he further said.

~Written by Aayushmaan Vishwanathan