{"id":296051,"date":"2025-11-20T02:02:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T02:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/296051\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T02:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T02:02:09","slug":"australian-cricket-legend-sacked-just-hours-from-first-ashes-test-as-abc-make-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/296051\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian cricket legend sacked just hours from first Ashes Test as ABC make statement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian cricket icon Glenn McGrath has been removed from ABC’s radio commentary panel merely days before the Ashes commence on Friday, owing to his commercial relationship with bookmaker Bet365.<\/p>\n

The legendary pace bowler, who captured 563 Test wickets across 124 matches for Australia, was scheduled to provide expert analysis for the national broadcaster’s coverage of the prestigious series.<\/p>\n

His departure comes as ABC enforces its strict policy prohibiting staff from maintaining connections with gambling enterprises.<\/p>\n

The 55-year-old had already appeared in promotional content for ABC’s Ashes coverage before the decision was finalised.<\/p>\n

\"Glenn<\/p>\n

Glenn McGrath has been axed by the ABC after his connections with Bet365<\/p>\n

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ABC confirmed the separation through an official statement: “The ABC and Glenn McGrath have mutually parted ways for this Ashes. <\/p>\n

“We look forward to seeing Glenn around the grounds throughout the series and would welcome working with him in the future.”<\/p>\n

The broadcaster’s commentary lineup, headed by Jim Maxwell and Corbin Middlemas, remains prepared for the opening Test at Perth this Friday.<\/p>\n

Despite losing his ABC position, McGrath will continue providing commentary through BBC’s Test Match Special programme.<\/p>\n

The timing proves particularly awkward given McGrath’s inclusion in recent promotional campaigns for ABC’s Ashes coverage.<\/p>\n

This situation mirrors the 2022 controversy when fellow pace bowling great Mitchell Johnson departed ABC Radio after discovering his employment with Bet Nation breached the broadcaster’s anti-gambling stance.<\/p>\n

\"Glenn<\/p>\n

Glenn McGrath’s association with Bet365 arose through the company’s backing of his foundation’s charitable initiatives<\/p>\n

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Johnson, who claimed 313 Test wickets, expressed frustration at the time, stating: “There seems to be a lot of hypocrisy that goes with this rule. I don’t understand and you start to wonder about what you can and can’t say if you are calling for them [the ABC].”<\/p>\n

McGrath’s betting firm connection stems from Bet365’s sponsorship of the McGrath Foundation’s Pink Test held annually in Sydney.<\/p>\n

Reports indicate ABC managing director Hugh Marks participated in discussions, though ultimately no exception could be granted.<\/p>\n

Johnson had previously criticised what he perceived as the ABC’s “moral compass” regarding gambling associations, questioning the consistency of the broadcaster’s stance.<\/p>\n

The former Australian quick remarked: “It’s blown me away a little bit… do we have to make sure we have to align with the ABC’s moral compass?”<\/p>\n

McGrath’s association with Bet365 arose through the company’s backing of his foundation’s charitable initiatives, particularly the annual Pink Test fundraising event.<\/p>\n

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The decision reportedly involved senior management deliberations, with reports suggesting fairness to other employees prevented any special dispensation being granted to the bowling great.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australian cricket icon Glenn McGrath has been removed from ABC’s radio commentary panel merely days before the Ashes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296052,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,13296,588,85],"class_list":["post-296051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sgg","tag-sport","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}