Cricket Australia faces backlash after omitting games on January 26, with critics accusing the governing body of prioritising 'woke' virtue signalling

Sky News AU

7 hours ago

Cricket Australia has copped major backlash following its decision to once again remove all scheduled matches on January 26 – effectively cancelling cricket on Australia Day for the second time in 31 years.
The sporting body's quiet removal of any scheduled matches on Australia Day has ignited fierce backlash.
The move has been widely condemned as politically motivated, with critics saying it reflects a broader cultural shift where national identity is being sidelined by corporate elites.
Last year's decision was defended on the grounds of a scheduling clash with the Australian Open – a clash which doesn't exist this time.
Sky News host Paul Murray tied the Australia Day decision to Cricket Australia's financial troubles, accusing the organisation of prioritising politics over performance – both on and off the field.
'Cricket Australia announced a net deficit of $31.9 million… the year before that, a $16.9 million loss… and before that, $5 million,' he said.
'Despite World Cups, Ashes wins – go woke, go broke.'
'Sometimes the oh-so-woke positions – like Australia Day being 'too scary' – just means you don't enthusiastically support the way you previously had.'
He also took aim at Cricket Australia's CEO Mike Baird, accusing him of importing the same anti-populist instincts which led to his failed attempt to ban greyhound racing when he was NSW Premier.
'Perhaps a little less focus on the woke and a little more on the bottom line,' Murray said. 'What do I know? I'm just a guy on tape.'
Murray noted that despite ongoing fan support for the players, the governing body's political positioning was alienating everyday Australians.
'It is a big slap in the face to Australians,' Sky News Senior reporter Caroline Marcus told Steve Price.
'How is not playing cricket going to help a single Indigenous child who is suffering from sexual abuse and not going to school? It is just pure virtue signalling, and Australians are sick of it.'
Marcus noted that the move was part of a campaign to erase Australia Day from the sport's branding and culture.
'They've cut out the words 'Australia Day' from all their marketing, and they've been moving towards this point for quite some time,' she said.
Sky News host James Morrow agreed, warning the trend reflected something much deeper than just a cricket fixture change.
'Now the name Australia – the very word and the very idea of celebrating that – you've got people out there who think it's such a shameful thing that we shouldn't even say it,' Morrow said.
'Rather than saying we're a great nation … let's just have the day.'
The criticism comes amid wider frustrations large institutions are increasingly out of step with the public mood.
'Every time we run a poll … overwhelmingly people say, 'Yes, I want Australia Day on the 26th,'' said host Steve Price.
'And all these people go, 'Well, we don't care what you think.''
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson also weighed in, calling the decision 'disgusting' and blaming corporate cowardice for caving to activist demands.
Ms Hanson said the move to avoid playing the national sport on the national holiday is yet another example of 'woke attitudes' overtaking once-proud institutions and that public pressure would ultimately be the key to restoring common sense in national institutions.
'It's only through backlash from the public that they will actually start thinking twice about it. I think it's disgusting,' Senator Hanson told Sky News' Danica De Giorgio on Wednesday.
'On that one day – Australia Day – and it is our national sport that they play, apart from the footy… but cricket is very much a loved sport by many Australians.'
'It breaks my heart to see it slowly unravelling here, and politicians are actually dividing us as a nation,' she continued.
The decision to postpone matches on January 26 has fueled growing accusations that the national sporting body is deliberately distancing itself from a day more than two-thirds of Australians want to keep, with Ms Hanson seeing this as a symbol of division in Australia.
'If I have anything to do with it, as long as I'm on the floor of parliament, I am going to keep pushing back and objecting to this,' Ms Hanson said.
'We were supposed to have a nation within a nation, and that was planned in 1988. That's exactly where they had it, but now, I pity Australians and the future generations.'
Cricket Australia has not provided any formal comment on its decision to drop the Australia Day fixture.
But for many Australians, it's a step too far.