If reports are correct that Cricket Australia has decided not to play the Australian National Anthem at the Big Bash Final on Australia Day, then it is nothing short of a national disgrace.
Who exactly do these highly paid administrators think they represent?
Here we have executives, bureaucrats, and corporate hangers-on collecting enormous salaries while presiding over one of Australia's great sporting institutions, an institution they inherited rather than built, and instead of protecting its traditions, they appear determined to dismantle them.
Australian cricket did not become a national obsession because of corporate diversity quotas, marketing consultants, or fashionable ideological campaigns. It became part of our national identity because generations of Australians passionately supported their country, proudly sang the National Anthem, belted out "C'mon Aussie, C'mon", and took enormous pride in watching Australia compete with courage, determination, and the unmistakable fighting spirit symbolised by the Baggy Green.
To remove the National Anthem from Australia's national day would demonstrate contempt for the history, traditions, and patriotism that made Australian cricket great.
It would send the message that expressions of Australian national pride are somehow embarrassing or inappropriate. Nothing could be further from the truth.
These administrators are supposed to be custodians of Australian cricket. Instead, they risk becoming cultural vandals; people more interested in appeasing fashionable activist politics than honouring the generations of Australians who built the game, and filled the grandstands creating the wealth they now enjoy.
Far from bringing Australians together, decisions like this only deepen division by pandering to destructive grievance politics while alienating the overwhelming majority of Australians who simply want to celebrate their country on its national day.
Enough is enough.
If the National Anthem is officially omitted on Australia Day, the crowd should respond by rising as one and singing it themselves.
Let every verse ring around the stadium.
Let tens of thousands of proud Australians remind Cricket Australia's board exactly whose game this is.
Patriotism built Australian cricket. Pride in Australia inspired generations of players to wear the Baggy Green with honour. If today's administrators are embarrassed by that patriotism, then perhaps they are the ones who no longer understand the game they have been entrusted to lead.
There is also a legitimate question that deserves to be asked: what role, if any, has the Albanese Government played in creating the political environment that encourages decisions like this?
Australian taxpayers contribute millions of dollars to cricket through government-funded infrastructure and development programs, including the Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund, which helps finance community cricket facilities across the country. Australians are entitled to ask whether any government pressure, direct or indirect, has encouraged sporting organisations to distance themselves from national symbols such as the National Anthem.
Cricket Australia should answer that question clearly.
Governments should also make their position equally clear. Sporting organisations that receive substantial taxpayer funding should respect Australia's national symbols and traditions, especially on Australia Day.
If a sporting organisation no longer wishes to celebrate Australia's national day or play the National Anthem, that sport should not be receiving a single cent of taxpayer support.
Finally, where are the players?
Wearing the Baggy Green has always meant representing far more than yourself. It means representing your country. If players are unwilling to speak up for something as fundamental as playing the Australian National Anthem on Australia Day, Australians are entitled to ask how much national pride still accompanies the privilege of representing Australia.
The National Anthem is not a political statement. It is a symbol of our nation, our history, and our shared identity.
On Australia Day, it should be sung proudly, not silenced.
But sadly, this latest episode of wokeness is just another sign that our nation is going backwards. As a kid growing up in a cricket-loving family, I never thought I'd see the day our beloved national sport would refuse to play our national anthem. It makes me not just sad, but bloody angry.
No wonder One Nation is surging in the polls.
Thought for the Day
“The Baggy Green is not just a cap; it’s a responsibility.” – Steve Waugh
Craig Kelly was a Liberal Member of Parliament (2010 - 2022) representing the seat of Hughes. He quit the Liberals in 2021 over their failure to defend liberties during COVID. He currently serves as Director of the Foundation for Economic Education.
