The 2023 Cricket World Cup has been going now for almost a month, and still we have two weeks to go. If there was not already too much cricket taking place, the length of this tournament today taxes the interest of even avid fans.
There will be 48 matches in total once the final is played and as with the recently completed Rugby World Cup the same teams are likely to be contesting the final.
Australia look likely to make the semi-finals as is the norm They have won four of teh last six editions and have won the trophy more than any other cricketing nation, with five victories in all.
Usually Australian cricket fans would be cock-a-hoop that their side is once again heading to the final stages of the competition, but that does not appear to be the case this time around.
Is this simp-ly because cricket fans have become jaded due to so much cricket being played and Australia seeming to be constantly playing India or England in some format of the game, while they rarely come up against the other nations?
The feeling of late is that many Australians, -which is very unlike Australians – want any other nation to win the World Cup other than their own team. Early losses were not met with people being disappointed and downhearted but with a small degree of pleasure.
It appears that the legacy of what was known as “sandpapergate” lingers on. There are some who feel that David Warner and Steve Smith ‘got off lightly.’
There is no denying that both have been great servants to Australian cricket. Or that they are both outstanding batsmen. However, Warner’s continual selection in spite of a loss of form, and the player himself stating publicly that he will play on until the end of this Australian summer before stepping aside has not sat well with many cricket fans. If you don’t perform you get dropped. Few have the privilege of deciding when they will retire.
The reinstating Steve Smith to leadership position on the last Ashes tour as vice-captain, which meant that he in fact was Captain in one test again was misguided. Having been at the helm when the sandpaper incident happened many fans felt he should never be allowed to captain the side again. They accepted that he should play, but not hold a leadership role.
The captaincy of the Australain cricket team has been described as being more important than being Prime Minister of Australia, but even in Canberra they would not welcome back a disgraced leader, so why did the national sport?
There are also many fans who feel that Cameron Bancroft is the only player who appear to have been truly punished for what happened in South Africa, yet he was allegedly put under immense peer pressure and simply following orders. Again the way he has been treated has turned some against the national side in light of the way Warner and Smith have been treated.
Cricket fans apprecaite what Justin Langer did to turn this side around after that scandal. They appreciated that he ran a tight ship and was working hard to restore pride to the baggy green cap, and what it meant to wear it.
Yet the players knifed him in the back. They flexed their collective muscle and forced him out.
Captain Pat Cummins has been seen as being one of those who lead the charge for Langer to be replaced, and that again has not been received well by many Australian cricket followers.
There is a strong view that this group of Australian crickets has an air of entitlement about them. This may well be a result of the world we live in today.
They may be a team of talented players, but you know there is a major issue when a parent says that they would not want any of the players to be a role model for their young children. There may have been a few who said that in the 1970’s but for very different reasoins, relating to players enjoying a beer.
As one Australian, who for years has been a passionate supporter of the national team stated, “they lack humility.” They went on to explain that the Australian team has always had an arrogance about it, they have always believed they are the best, but that was on the field of play. Off the field the players were good blokes. This individual stated that the team today needed to be more humble in light of what happened in South Africa, and restore the nation’s trust and regain it’s respect, as they brought shame upon Australia not just Australian cricket.
Clearly there is a disconnect between Australia’s number one sporting team and many of the public in Australia. It is a situation that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later or the damage to the game in Australia could be long-lasting.
It would appear that those involved with the side, and involved at the highest level of the game have not read the mood in the country, or if they have they would be coming up with a strategy to try and restore faith and support.
One of the great things about Australia and Australian sport has always been that there is a connection between their sporting stars and the public. Unlike in other countries where the superstars lived behind big fences with security cameras, and have security guards when they go out, Australia’s stars lived in the same suburbs or on the same street, albeit they may have had a bigger house and nicer car, but you would see them out and about. They were one of us and that kept them grounded.
It would appear that this is no longer the case, and what is more, many Australians no longer want to be associated with them, even if they no longer wish to mix with the public. The team it would appear no longer represents the people, and their values.
Unless there is a change made within Australian Cricket it will not just be participation numbers that drop. It is time for the sport to read the mood and adapt.
