Cricket Australia has been accused of double standards after banning ABC Radio from interviewing players post-stumps on day three of the fifth Test following an attack on George Bailey, while allowing scathing comments from other Test greats to sail through to the keeper unpunished. CA chief executive Todd Greenberg ordered the ban after former Test bowler and ABC commentator Stuart Clark questioned whether chief selector Bailey had “the gravitas or the leadership skills” to overrule Andrew McDonald, Steve Smith or Pat Cummins on major decisions.
Clark’s comments came on the back of the decision to leave spinner Todd Murphy out of the Sydney Test. Clark also described CA’s head of cricket, James Allsopp, as “a club cricket coach that throws underarm balls to kids”, further angering Greenberg.
Cricket Australia boss Todd Greenberg (R) has been accused of doubles standards after banning the ABC from speaking with players during the fifth Ashes Test. Pic: Getty
The ABC’s large audience was prevented from hearing from century-makers Steve Smith and Travis Head at the end of day three after Greenberg ruled Clark’s opinion “out of line”. The ABC Radio team addressed the incident before the start of play on day four, revealing the ban had been lifted after a public outcry.
Clark said: “The amount of people that have reached out to me that I haven’t heard from in years and have said ‘I hope you’re okay, and you’ve (just) spoken your mind’. I’m okay, I’m fine. I had a good night’s sleep last night, and it’s my opinion. Personally, I’ve moved on and it’s not causing any grief my end.”
Cricket fans question why CA hasn’t banned other networks
Many fans asked why CA reacted so strongly to Clark’s comments while ignoring remarks from other former greats working in the media, accusing the governing body of double standards. After Australia’s loss in the fourth Test, former opening batsman and Channel 7 commentator Matthew Hayden told the All Over The Bar podcast: “The faceless men in this cricket team is always an issue.
“(Batting coach) Michael Di Venuto has been there for at least five years… we need some generationally different voices that sit in that mentality of how you play. I don’t want to be sitting here on this podcast in two years going, ‘Well we’ve still got all these technical difficulties’. At some point, you have to take accountability, and that’s the piece I really struggle with the most.”
Test great and TV pundit Matthew Hayden (L) has been critical of the setup at Cricket Australia. Pic: Getty
Hayden and Channel 7 escaped any sort of censure. Jason Gillespie, Mark Waugh, Justin Langer and Michael Clarke – among others – have also voiced strong criticisms in their roles as media pundits without punishment.
Underlining fan anger over the ABC ban, a listener texted the station with the following message: “Regarding the Australian team not being made available to the ABC, it strikes me as unprofessional. (They’re saying) ‘We don’t like what one person said on that media platform, and therefore we’re boycotting the broadcaster’… how childish.”