Why ‘awakened’ Aussie Test captain Pat Cummins gets a special briefing on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament before flying to England for the Ashes
- This year there will be a referendum on a vote to set up an Indigenous Voice
- Cricket Australia is expected to support the Yes campaign
- Only four Indigenous players have played in Test cricket for Australia
Pat Cummins and Meg Lanning will be given a detailed briefing by Cricket Australia on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament before they head to England for the Ashes this winter.
According to News CorpCricket Australia intends to formally announce its position on the Voice in the coming weeks.
However, executives are aware of the delicate nature of the subject and want to consult with the players before taking a position publicly.
Cummins and Lanning, the captain of the men’s and women’s teams, will be briefed by Cricket Australia and are expected to lead discussions with their respective teams.
Five years after a representative body of indigenous leaders issued the Uluru Declaration of the Heart calling for a vote in parliament, a referendum is scheduled for October.
Pat Cummins is expected to be briefed by Cricket Australia officials on the Indigenous vote in parliament before leaving for the Ashes in England this winter
Australia women’s captain Meg Lanning will also be briefed by Cricket Australia on the matter
The Voice would give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders the chance to advise on laws and policies that directly affect them by acting as an advisory body to Parliament.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has personally moved to secure the support of Australia’s biggest sporting bodies.
Along with Cricket Australia, the AFL, NRL, Rugby Australia, Netball Australia, Football Australia and Tennis Australia are expected to support the Yes campaign.
“I know from conversations with a number of NRL and AFL players, both past and present, that they will be active in voicing their views in support of constitutional recognition,” Albanese said last month.
“They have all been strong supporters of Indigenous recognition for a long period of time.
“Even before then, we will have Indigenous rounds in both sports, which will be a celebration of Indigenous Australians and their contribution to those sports.
“And I expect that not only they, but also Tennis Australia have supported us. Cricket Australia, all sporting codes.’
In the recent past, Cricket Australia has not shied away from social issues. In 2014, it joined the AFL, NRL, Football Australia and Rugby Australia in signing a commitment to eliminate homophobia in Australian sport.
Two years later, the five bodies launched the Pride in Sport Index, a benchmark designed to assess the inclusion of LBGTI people in Australian sport.
Cricket Australia also supported the Yes campaign ahead of the same-sex marriage vote in 2017, as did the AFL, NRL, Football Australia and Rugby Australia.
But in 140 years, only two Test cricketers for men – Jason Gillespie and Scott Boland – and two Test cricketers for women – Ashleigh Gardner and Faith Thomas – were Aboriginal.
‘It’s huge. Australia has a rich history and it’s great that this is starting to show in our team,” said Cummins ahead of Boland’s Boxing Day Test debut against England in 2021.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (center) is an outspoken supporter of the Yes campaign
Scott Boland became only the fourth Indigenous Australian to play Test cricket when he debuted in the Boxing Day Test against England in December 2021
Ashleigh Gardner said earlier this year that as a proud Muruwari woman she was not comfortable playing on January 26.
Earlier this year, Gardner labeled January 26 – the date the First Fleet arrived in Sydney – a day to celebrate “genocide, massacres and dispossession” and noted that playing on Australia Day did not sit well with her.
She received full support from Lanning, who said the team was eager to use their platforms to educate Australians on this topic.
“Something we would like to do is acknowledge the grief and sadness that day brings to First Nations people,” she said.
“We’re going to try to take the opportunity to educate ourselves and create a better understanding of what it means and their culture.”