Aussie cricket bosses make shock decision about the most controversial day on the national calendar - and fans will be furious
The Big Bash League will conclude on Sunday, January 25, but there will be no major cricket game on the following day.
Cricket Australia has grappled with how to treat the national public holiday after controversially banning the term 'Australia Day' four years ago.
Last summer cricket wasn't played on the day because it clashed with the Australian Open tennis - but that won't be the case in 2026.
In late 2024, Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg said that going forward Australia Day will be celebrated and cricket will be played - so it is a surprise that there will be no cricket in 2026.
The decision to schedule the Test over the Australia Day weekend in 2024 was itself controversial, with women's all-rounder Ash Gardner previously describing it as a day of 'hurt and mourning'.
Gardner found support from men's Test captain Pat Cummins and star batter Steve Smith.
Both claimed January 26 is not an appropriate time to celebrate the national holiday, with the date a highly controversial issue due to the landing of the First Fleet from Britain in Australia.
Smith formed his view after chatting with teammate Scott Boland, who has Indigenous heritage.
However Cricket Australia's attempt to placate such opponents by shying away from acknowledging the national day also angered players who wanted the day celebrated.
Former Test player Greg Ritchie was one of those.
'I am quite disappointed to read the Cricket Australia has decided not to use the phrase 'Australia Day' for this Test match,' Ritchie said.
'It will be at the Gabba, which is my home ground, and to have an Australia Day Test there is special.'
The stance of the cricketers who support not playing on the day angered some sections of the public, with 3AW Morning host Tom Elliott scathing in his criticism of Cummins.
'He makes me angry,' Elliott said.
'He sits there and pontificates, saying "ah, well Australia Day is a source of hurt for so many people, we have to move the date".
'Hey Pat Cummins, you get paid millions of dollars to pay cricket. If it wasn't for the British settlement of Australia there wouldn't be cricket here.
'So you make money, quite directly, out of the fact we were colonised by the UK.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Alex de Minaur saves three match points before roaring back to win Washington title
Alex de Minaur has claimed his first title of the year, winning the Washington Open final at the second time of asking. The Australian men's No 1 fought gallantly to claim an enthralling contest in the US capital over fellow 26-year-old Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), in just over three hours. A workman-like tiebreaker capped off a week full of positives, and 10th career title success, for De Minaur ahead of next month's US Open in New York, while Davidovich Fokina fell just short of claiming his first ATP Tour title. Seventh seed De Minaur, who lost in straight sets to Germany's Alexander Zverev in the 2018 Washington final, improved to a tour-leading 21 hard-court wins for the season by beating Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the semis. On Monday (AEST), Davidovich Fokina, the Spanish 12th seed, was broken early in the opening set but responded immediately for 2-2. He gained the advantage again in the 11th game before serving it out in 66 minutes. It lit a fire under the Australian player, who went up 3-0 in the second and broke again to take it to a third set. But he dropped serve for 3-1 in the decider, before saving three match points and breaking back when Davidovich Fokina was serving for the championship at 5-4. De Minaur went on to claim a breaker littered with unforced errors by his opponent. Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion De Minaur will return to the top 10 in the rankings after reaching the decider. His 42 wins at ATP 500 level since the start of the 2023 season is the most by any player on tour.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
See the chilling photo at the centre of yet another death threat against an AFL coach
Melbourne have reported an online threat made against coach Simon Goodwin to the AFL Integrity Unit following the Demons' 'devastating' defeat to St Kilda on Sunday. Leading by 46 points at the final change, Melbourne lost following a remarkable Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera goal after the siren to give the Saints the biggest three-quarter-time comeback in AFL history. A post from an anonymous account on X, formerly Twitter, implied someone was waiting near Goodwin's car ready to harm him and showed a picture of the coach's vehicle parked in an underground garage. The Demons are aware of the post and have reported it to the AFL integrity unit, declining to comment further. It comes just two weeks after a Collingwood supporter was banned from the MCG for five years for making threats against Carlton coach Michael Voss. The image was posted by an anonymous account named Kozzy Owns You, referring to Melbourne forward Kysaiah Pickett. "You need to communicate, get organised, and we didn't get that done." Simon Goodwin unpacks the dying moments of Melbourne's loss post-match: — AFL (@AFL) July 27, 2025 The chilling image and threat was posted by a Melbourne Demons fan account called Kozzy Owns You after Melbourne forward Kysaiah Pickett. Footy fans were quick to condemn the post and have also called for the identity of the Demons supporter behind it to be revealed. 'I know passionate supporters can get upset sometimes, but this isn't acceptable,' one posted. 'This is a terrible look mate it's just a game no need to say that,' added another. Another commented: 'Delete this mate, terrible take'. The post surfaced during Goodwin's press conference, where the shattered 2021 premiership coach was trying to piece together how Melbourne blew their seventh win of the season. 'Sometimes in your darkest moments can be your biggest growth,' Goodwin said. 'When you have a last quarter like that, it's a pretty devastated group in there. 'It's a pretty devastated group of coaches, because we're here to win.' Wanganeen-Milera calmly slotted his third goal after flying for a soaring mark with less than 20 seconds remaining. That levelled the scores, before a 6-6-6 penalty in the middle was paid against the Demons, to the confusion of all players. Saints ruck Rowan Marshall was able to perfectly pick out Wanganeen-Milera running inside 50 to take a mark just before the siren sounded. Any score would have given the Saints victory, but Wanganeen-Milera went back and kicked the goal. 'Clearly, we didn't get that right,' Goodwin said. 'It's a pretty simple process to get 6-6-6 done. You need to communicate, get organised. 'We didn't get that done ... that's on us to get that done the right way. 'We'll have a look at why it happened, how it happened, and make sure that it never happens again.' St Kilda kicked nine unanswered goals in the last quarter, but a calamity of errors from Melbourne helped them pinch the win. The Saints had the lead for a little more than a minute of the entire game after slotting the first goal of the match. Experienced midfielder Clayton Oliver had a chance to almost ice the game when he had a shot on the run with the Demons still in front by six points, but he sprayed the kick completely and failed to score. Melbourne superstar Kysaiah Pickett also got stranded on the bench in the dying stages, only returning with eight seconds left. 'When you've had seven or eight goals kicked against you in a row, you need to find a way to execute those things under pressure, and we didn't do that,' Goodwin said. 'We'll learn from it clearly and grow from it, but it's unacceptable at the same time.' In a bizarre season, Melbourne went 0-5, then won five of their next six games to put themselves back in the finals picture. But the Demons have lost seven of their past eight matches, the only victory in that time coming against lowly North Melbourne.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Why I have decided to delay having children to focus on my career even though my biological clock is ticking
Australian boxing champion Ruby Singh has revealed she has frozen her eggs, joining a growing number of women who are prioritising their careers before starting a family. Ms Singh, in her mid-30s and ranked among the world's top 10, recently won the WBC Asia Championship belt in April and is now preparing to head to the United States to chase her next world title. While her focus remains on boxing glory, Ms Singh said she didn't want to risk her chances of having children later in life. She has just completed an egg-freezing cycle at Adora Fertility in Australia – a move she said has lifted the weight of the 'ticking clock' many women in their 30s feel. 'Freezing my eggs had always been at the back of my mind,' she said. 'In my early 30s I started to think about it but I didn't really make a move because I was traveling around a little bit.' The turning point came after Ms Singh watched comedian Andrew Schultz's Netflix special Life, in which he openly discussed IVF and egg freezing. 'After I finished my fight, I knew I was going to be home for a few months before heading back to the US,' Ms Singh said. '[The documentary] sort of reminded me and I thought it was perfect timing for me to freeze my eggs.' Ranked among the world's top 10, Ms Singh chose to freeze her eggs in Australia before heading to the US for her next fight - ensuring her future family plans don't get sidelined by her career. Ms Singh chose to undergo the procedure in Australia rather than interrupt her gruelling training schedule while overseas. 'Australia is the best place to do it out of everywhere I've been in terms of affordability and everything and the support you get,' she said. 'I knew I'd be deep into a training camp overseas and once you get the momentum going and you're training for a world title set you can't pause for a few months, go egg freeze and then just restart the process. 'It's a valuable time for me and my boxing career. I can't afford to just pause halfway. So I thought, before I even start that journey of training for a world title, I would freeze my eggs.' Ms Singh said she dreams of one day having 'four or five kids' – and the decision has brought her peace of mind. 'I don't have to think about my biological clock when I'm focused and trying to fight someone, it just gives a little bit more control,' she said. 'I'm egg banking right now, so I'm doing a few sessions so I have enough by the time I'm ready to have kids and that gives me a sense of relief. 'I know it's not a guaranteed outcome, like the chance of having a kid depending on how many eggs you freeze, but as long as you're aware of it, I think it's a great idea.' Raised in a traditional Indian-Australian family where marriage and children often define success, Ms Singh said her career choice as a professional boxer was not always embraced. Her parents now cheer her on from the sidelines but still ask when she will settle down. 'Initially, when I told [my mum], she was like 'why don't you just get married?' Ms Singh said. 'I told her I just can't find a husband at a store and then just immediately have kids. 'It gives her relief that I'm actually thinking about having a family and want to have a family, rather than just letting the days go by and getting to an age where it's not an option anymore.' Her message to other women considering egg freezing is simple: start planning. 'You don't have to go ahead with it yet, but find a clinic and start thinking about it so you can write it on your to-do list,' Ms Singh said. 'Then you have an idea of the price and everything, and then once you're ready to go and you have the funds, you don't have to spend months searching for a clinic or waiting on tests.' Egg-freezing is becoming increasingly common in Australia, with almost 7,000 procedures carried out in 2022 – nearly double the 3,500 recorded in 2020, according to the Australian and New Zealand Assisted Reproduction Database. Dr Charley Zheng, a Fertility Specialist at Adora Fertility, said the clinic had seen a 20 per cent increase in women freezing eggs in the past two to three years. 'Anyone aged around 35 to 37 or below who has the opportunity to freeze their eggs, should,' Dr Zheng said. He added that the procedure can help women feel 'freed from the biological clock' and is vital for patients with endometriosis or those undergoing cancer treatment. 'Egg freezing is future-proofing,' Dr Zheng said. 'It allows social circumstances, like dating and finding a compatible partner, to run its course.'
