Australian cricket team makes history by taking a knee before Test as fans slam them for being woke
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Australia’s test team make history by getting down on their knees for the opening of the Windies series – as fans hit the side for being too awake and staying out in droves
- The Australian test team has taken a knee for the first time, led by Pat Cummins
- It’s just the latest in a series of social causes that the skipper vocally advanced
- Previously, the two parties participated in an Indigenous Barefoot Circle – a new tradition
Australian Test cricketers have taken a knee just before the first pitch in the series opener against the West Indies in Perth for the first time ever, but many fans have labeled the gesture as ‘awake’ and ‘virtue-signalling’.
Fans flooded Cricket Australia’s post about the opening Test summer match at Optus Stadium with comments that they wanted the national team to focus on cricket, not politics
It comes as public interest and sentiment towards the men’s teams has plummeted, with the stadium looking almost completely empty when the match started.
Usually the side has taken a knee when an opponent has done it, as a show of support and respect for their opponents; and as the West Indies once again decided to get down on their knees in the face of racism, the Aussie men have done the same.
Aussie players David Warner (second from left) and Usman Khawaja (No. 1) kneel ahead of the first ball of the Test at Optus Stadium in Perth against West Indies
“We have consulted with the West Indies team, who confirmed that they are going down on their knees,” a Cricket Australia spokesman said. The age earlier this week.
“As we have done in the West Indies and in the recent warm-up games, we will support the West Indies team and kneel beside them.”
After singing the national anthem, both teams got on their knees; with many West Indies players also raising their fists in a ‘black power’ salute.
But many fans considered it a symbolic gesture that has been overused and lost its power in the fight against racism, which is clearly still so widespread around the world despite the gesture.
Kemar Roach kneels and raises his fist in a black power salute prior to the first pitch of the game
“Call me back when the players focus on cricket and not boring, self-serving, political platitudes,” someone wrote on Cricket Australia’s Twitter post.
“Are the plonkers a knee heralding virtue?” asked another, with many saying “political vigilance” was keeping them from the men’s game.
That said, many agreed that this wasn’t the only reason why sentiment towards the team has plummeted.
Earlier, the two sides also participated in a Barefoot Circle, as a show of respect for the indigenous peoples, with the Optus Stadium in the Noongar land.
According to Cricket Australiathe barefoot circle is a cricket-focused way for players and teams to take a moment before matches to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land, interact as opponents and pay respect to the country.
This is done barefoot as a way to connect with the land, but also as a moment to reflect that we all have common ground.