‘Complete cowards': Cricket Australia blasted over ‘anti-Australian' move to snub national day
For the second year in a row – and just the second time in 31 years – there will be no cricket on January 26, despite it being a major public holiday and a key date in the summer calendar.
'Complete cowards, anti-Australian, and people are sick of this; we're sick of the cultural self-loathing,' Ms Leach said.
'When will these organisations understand we actually love our country (and) want to stand tall and be proud.'

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The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
More changes as Matildas aim to rebound from shock loss
Joe Montemurro has promised to ring in the changes yet again as his inexperienced Matildas attempt to bounce back to form in Tuesday night's rematch with Panama in Perth. Panama, ranked a lowly 56th in the world, produced one of their greatest wins on Saturday win beating the 15th-ranked Matildas 1-0 in Bunbury. Montemurro, in his first international window as Matildas coach, had made a whopping 10 changes to his starting line-up for that match, and introduced four debutants off the bench. It's all part of his wider plan to gain more insight into the depth in Australian women's football, and to see who can adapt to his possession-based game style. Montemurro's reign started with a 3-0 win and a 1-1 draw against Slovenia before the shock loss to Panama. The Matildas have looked disjointed in all three games, but Montemurro is confident the short-term pain will lead to long-term gain. Australia entered the current international window without mainstays like Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Katrina Gorry and Clare Wheeler. Ellie Carpenter, Mackenzie Arnold, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Sharn Freier exited the squad after the Slovenia series, while Amy Sayer and Charli Grant were rested for Saturday's loss to Panama. Sayer and Grant are expected to come in for Tuesday's game at HBF Park, but Alex Chidiac, Emily Gielnik and Kaitlyn Torpey have left to rejoin their respective clubs. In an added blow for the Matildas, goalkeeper Teagan Micah has been ruled out of the final match of the international window after suffering whiplash in making a save on Saturday. Montemurro doesn't view the shock 1-0 loss to Panama as a disaster, but says fans can expect more changes on Tuesday. "You don't lose, you learn," Montemurro said on Monday when asked about the surprise defeat. "It's a perfect opportunity to learn, because it's not a do-or-die game. It's not a game that we are going to lose points on or lose our status in a competition situation. "I haven't really looked at it as a loss. I looked at it as more information for us to go forward. "Obviously when you make a lot of changes like that, there is going to be a little bit of instability. "But I still have belief in the process, I still have belief in the way going forward, and we've got a bank of information that will help us going forward." Montemurro is looking for his players to display more football intelligence on Tuesday. And although the current window is more about information gathering and the implementation of a new game style, he wants to end it with a win. "We want to create the culture, we want to create the standards, we want to create an idea of football," Montemurro said. "And obviously there will be a wider, extended look at where we are, where we're going with the squad - but we want to do it while we're winning. "So a win is is important, like always." Joe Montemurro has promised to ring in the changes yet again as his inexperienced Matildas attempt to bounce back to form in Tuesday night's rematch with Panama in Perth. Panama, ranked a lowly 56th in the world, produced one of their greatest wins on Saturday win beating the 15th-ranked Matildas 1-0 in Bunbury. Montemurro, in his first international window as Matildas coach, had made a whopping 10 changes to his starting line-up for that match, and introduced four debutants off the bench. It's all part of his wider plan to gain more insight into the depth in Australian women's football, and to see who can adapt to his possession-based game style. Montemurro's reign started with a 3-0 win and a 1-1 draw against Slovenia before the shock loss to Panama. The Matildas have looked disjointed in all three games, but Montemurro is confident the short-term pain will lead to long-term gain. Australia entered the current international window without mainstays like Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Katrina Gorry and Clare Wheeler. Ellie Carpenter, Mackenzie Arnold, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Sharn Freier exited the squad after the Slovenia series, while Amy Sayer and Charli Grant were rested for Saturday's loss to Panama. Sayer and Grant are expected to come in for Tuesday's game at HBF Park, but Alex Chidiac, Emily Gielnik and Kaitlyn Torpey have left to rejoin their respective clubs. In an added blow for the Matildas, goalkeeper Teagan Micah has been ruled out of the final match of the international window after suffering whiplash in making a save on Saturday. Montemurro doesn't view the shock 1-0 loss to Panama as a disaster, but says fans can expect more changes on Tuesday. "You don't lose, you learn," Montemurro said on Monday when asked about the surprise defeat. "It's a perfect opportunity to learn, because it's not a do-or-die game. It's not a game that we are going to lose points on or lose our status in a competition situation. "I haven't really looked at it as a loss. I looked at it as more information for us to go forward. "Obviously when you make a lot of changes like that, there is going to be a little bit of instability. "But I still have belief in the process, I still have belief in the way going forward, and we've got a bank of information that will help us going forward." Montemurro is looking for his players to display more football intelligence on Tuesday. And although the current window is more about information gathering and the implementation of a new game style, he wants to end it with a win. "We want to create the culture, we want to create the standards, we want to create an idea of football," Montemurro said. "And obviously there will be a wider, extended look at where we are, where we're going with the squad - but we want to do it while we're winning. "So a win is is important, like always." Joe Montemurro has promised to ring in the changes yet again as his inexperienced Matildas attempt to bounce back to form in Tuesday night's rematch with Panama in Perth. Panama, ranked a lowly 56th in the world, produced one of their greatest wins on Saturday win beating the 15th-ranked Matildas 1-0 in Bunbury. Montemurro, in his first international window as Matildas coach, had made a whopping 10 changes to his starting line-up for that match, and introduced four debutants off the bench. It's all part of his wider plan to gain more insight into the depth in Australian women's football, and to see who can adapt to his possession-based game style. Montemurro's reign started with a 3-0 win and a 1-1 draw against Slovenia before the shock loss to Panama. The Matildas have looked disjointed in all three games, but Montemurro is confident the short-term pain will lead to long-term gain. Australia entered the current international window without mainstays like Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Katrina Gorry and Clare Wheeler. Ellie Carpenter, Mackenzie Arnold, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Sharn Freier exited the squad after the Slovenia series, while Amy Sayer and Charli Grant were rested for Saturday's loss to Panama. Sayer and Grant are expected to come in for Tuesday's game at HBF Park, but Alex Chidiac, Emily Gielnik and Kaitlyn Torpey have left to rejoin their respective clubs. In an added blow for the Matildas, goalkeeper Teagan Micah has been ruled out of the final match of the international window after suffering whiplash in making a save on Saturday. Montemurro doesn't view the shock 1-0 loss to Panama as a disaster, but says fans can expect more changes on Tuesday. "You don't lose, you learn," Montemurro said on Monday when asked about the surprise defeat. "It's a perfect opportunity to learn, because it's not a do-or-die game. It's not a game that we are going to lose points on or lose our status in a competition situation. "I haven't really looked at it as a loss. I looked at it as more information for us to go forward. "Obviously when you make a lot of changes like that, there is going to be a little bit of instability. "But I still have belief in the process, I still have belief in the way going forward, and we've got a bank of information that will help us going forward." Montemurro is looking for his players to display more football intelligence on Tuesday. And although the current window is more about information gathering and the implementation of a new game style, he wants to end it with a win. "We want to create the culture, we want to create the standards, we want to create an idea of football," Montemurro said. "And obviously there will be a wider, extended look at where we are, where we're going with the squad - but we want to do it while we're winning. "So a win is is important, like always."


Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
More changes as Matildas aim to rebound from shock loss
Joe Montemurro has promised to ring in the changes yet again as his inexperienced Matildas attempt to bounce back to form in Tuesday night's rematch with Panama in Perth. Panama, ranked a lowly 56th in the world, produced one of their greatest wins on Saturday win beating the 15th-ranked Matildas 1-0 in Bunbury. Montemurro, in his first international window as Matildas coach, had made a whopping 10 changes to his starting line-up for that match, and introduced four debutants off the bench. It's all part of his wider plan to gain more insight into the depth in Australian women's football, and to see who can adapt to his possession-based game style. Montemurro's reign started with a 3-0 win and a 1-1 draw against Slovenia before the shock loss to Panama. The Matildas have looked disjointed in all three games, but Montemurro is confident the short-term pain will lead to long-term gain. Australia entered the current international window without mainstays like Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Katrina Gorry and Clare Wheeler. Ellie Carpenter, Mackenzie Arnold, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Sharn Freier exited the squad after the Slovenia series, while Amy Sayer and Charli Grant were rested for Saturday's loss to Panama. Sayer and Grant are expected to come in for Tuesday's game at HBF Park, but Alex Chidiac, Emily Gielnik and Kaitlyn Torpey have left to rejoin their respective clubs. In an added blow for the Matildas, goalkeeper Teagan Micah has been ruled out of the final match of the international window after suffering whiplash in making a save on Saturday. Montemurro doesn't view the shock 1-0 loss to Panama as a disaster, but says fans can expect more changes on Tuesday. "You don't lose, you learn," Montemurro said on Monday when asked about the surprise defeat. "It's a perfect opportunity to learn, because it's not a do-or-die game. It's not a game that we are going to lose points on or lose our status in a competition situation. "I haven't really looked at it as a loss. I looked at it as more information for us to go forward. "Obviously when you make a lot of changes like that, there is going to be a little bit of instability. "But I still have belief in the process, I still have belief in the way going forward, and we've got a bank of information that will help us going forward." Montemurro is looking for his players to display more football intelligence on Tuesday. And although the current window is more about information gathering and the implementation of a new game style, he wants to end it with a win. "We want to create the culture, we want to create the standards, we want to create an idea of football," Montemurro said. "And obviously there will be a wider, extended look at where we are, where we're going with the squad - but we want to do it while we're winning. "So a win is is important, like always."

AU Financial Review
2 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
Albanese lost in translation as he heads to Beijing
Timing and imagery matter in politics. It may be a coincidence that Anthony Albanese's visit to Beijing this weekend is uncomfortably close to yet another supposed Trump deadline for tariff and trade deals this week. But the willingness of this US president to trample on the diplomatic sensitivities of close allies doesn't give an Australian prime minister the same leeway. Not when the power, economic and security balance is so unequal.