Cricket Australia boss tries to avoid saying ‘Australia Day’ in train-wreck with Ben Fordham

Cricket Australia’s chief executive was unable to answer in a radio interview about the train wreck why it will not commemorate Australia Day later this week.

Nick Hockley clashed with 2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham on Tuesday in the wake of the board’s controversial decision not to mention the national holiday during the second Test at the Gabba in Brisbane.

Day two of the Test against the West Indies falls on Australia Day next Friday.

The stupid interview got off to a fiery start when English expat Hockley initially tried to avoid the words ‘Australia Day’.

‘What day is Friday?’ Fordham asked.

Hockey responded, “Well, Friday is a great national holiday for everyone.”

His answer prompted Fordham to ask the question again.

‘Friday is January 26th. It’s the Australia Day bank holiday weekend,” Hockley finally replied.

He tried to avoid the next question when asked why it was so difficult to pronounce Australia Day.

‘If I may just clarify a few things. The first is that we have made no announcements this year and our approach on Friday is completely consistent with what it has been for the last four or five years,” Hockley explained.

“We appreciate that many Australians celebrate Australia Day and love watching the cricket on that day.”

He added that the board was aware that January 26 was a difficult day for some of Australia’s best male and female cricketers, especially those from Indigenous backgrounds.

Hockley tried to dodge whether the board would recognize Australia Day next Friday, prompting Fordham to ask the question several times.

“We recognize that the holiday is a fantastic day for everyone to come and enjoy cricket,” Hockley said.

“We are not boycotting Australia Day in any way. we want to play cricket on Australia Day.”

“We recognize that Australia Day is celebrated by a lot of people and people, people enjoy watching the cricket.

‘We take that into account in our communication material and it means that it means different things to different people. We are respectful and just want everyone to feel welcome.”

“Our position is as neutral as possible, we want everyone to come along and have a fantastic time celebrating cricket,”

The grilling continued when Fordham asked why cricket was scheduled on Australia Day when some of the top players had difficulty with the date.

Cricket fans are “absolutely welcome” to bring Australian flags to the Gabba on Friday, Hockley said.

But Hockley struggled to give a yes or no answer to the question of whether Australia Day will be mentioned over the loudspeaker during the Test on Friday.

Fordham demanded a straight answer before Hockley finally relented: “I don’t believe it.”

“We are taking the same approach as we have for the last four or five years,” he added.

‘WWe’ve spoken to our players, we’ve spoken to our committee and we’ve spoken to us I want everyone to come along and have the most fantastic time celebrating Australia Day.”

An exasperated Fordham did not hold back his views on the board’s handling of the Australia Day debacle.

“Imagine saying to people, look: I want to celebrate Christmas, but we don’t want to talk about Santa Claus,” he told Hockley.

“I think you would appreciate that people are very angry about the way you’ve handled this.”

Hockley responded: It’s not a holiday, but we try to be as inclusive and welcoming as possible.

“We just want everyone to come out and enjoy the cricket and the upcoming holiday.”

Fordham fired back: “Well, I don’t know how you count the majority of Australians who want to celebrate the National Day.”

The radio host rounded off the grilling with a cheeky swipe at Cricket Australia.

“The one thing I want to say to you, having lived in this country all my life, is that I think Australians are mature enough to be able to hear the words Australia Day on Australia Day,” Fordham told Hockley.

“That’s something you can think about before 2025.”

The decision to schedule the test over the Australia Day weekend was itself controversial, with women’s all-rounder Ash Gardner previously describing it as a day of “hurt and mourning”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns was among those who decried the move and urged Cricket Australia to review its decision.

Cricket great Greg Ritchie, who played 30 Tests and 44 one-day internationals, also weighed in on the controversy.

“I am quite disappointed to read that Cricket Australia has decided not to use the phrase ‘Australia Day’ for this Test match,” Ritchie said.

“It will be at the Gabba, my home ground, and to have an Australia Day Test there is special.”