Cricket Australia boss Nick Hockley says Gabba Test will reference Australia Day

Cricket Australia boss Nick Hockley says the Gabba Test will reference Australia Day in ground announcements, following his trainwreck interview with Ben Fordham.

Pat Cummins believes the date of Australia Day should be changed, as Cricket Australia confirms the Gabba will honour the occasion on Friday. Picture: Liam Kidston

Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley has been forced to clarify that the organisation had not banned the phrase “Australia Day” from the public address system at the Test in Brisbane on ­Friday, after earlier claiming there would be no mention.

The confusion came as Test captain Pat Cummins called for the date to be changed from January 26.

Hockley has been criticised for the game’s decision not to mark the date, which a number of Indigenous players find offensive.

Despite saying the words “Australia Day’ would not be uttered on loudspeakers at the Test, Hockley was forced to come out hours later and state the national day will be recognised.

“While we do not refer to Australia Day in our marketing and promotional material, and haven’t done for more than four years, in regard to welcoming people with the ground announcement prior to play on Friday, I’d like to clarify that this will include reference to Australia Day,” he told The Australian.

“As we have said for several years when we play cricket on Jan­uary 26, while many people celebrate Australia Day, for others, especially many Indigenous Australians, it’s a very difficult day. We encourage everyone to enjoy the cricket and be inclusive and respectful of each other.”

But when asked repeatedly earlier in the day on Sydney’s 2GB radio whether the words “Australia Day” would be heard on the Gabba’s loudspeakers, Hockley said he did not “believe so – they won’t and we’ve taken a consistent approach for the past”.

The Australian understands the groundskeeper was always going to use the words “Australia Day” and Mr Hockley made an error on air.

Earlier on Tuesday, Cummins was keen to express his love for Australia while accepting a need to change the date, which is considered by many Indigenous Australians as inappropriate.

“This conversation comes up every year really and Cricket Australia has been pretty consistent over the last four or five years in the way they approach it,” Cummins said.

“My personal opinions is I absolutely love Australia, it is the best country in the world by a mile and I think we should have an Australia Day, but I think we can probably find a more appropriate day to celebrate.”

A number of senior Indigenous players have backed the organisation’s attempts to be inclusive to all Australians on the issue, including Ash Gardner and Scott Boland. Cummins applauds the attempt to be inclusive.

“I think in particular a sport like cricket, which has such diversity and has millions of people following it and supporting it and playing it, you get a good spectrum of the community and a good feel for what the community kind of expects.

“So, knowing a couple of those players … you hear the stories and their feelings and it does gather extra importance.

“I think it is hard because something like Jan 26 does mean something different to different people. We absolutely love Australia and feel really lucky and privileged to be here in this country but it is a delicate one. It’s gonna be a tough day for some, but hearing that it’s gonna be close to a sellout of the Gabba.”

Cummins’ Cricket for Climate initiative was celebrating the installation of solar panels at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, which they claim will save $50,000 in energy costs in the first year and 398 tonnes of emissions.

Based on current energy pricing, the panels are estimated to achieve close to $1m in savings over the 20-year lifespan of the project, as well as removing close to 8000 tonnes of carbon.

Cummins believes cricket has a particular responsibility because of its footprint but it is also a game vulnerable to the extremes of climate change.

“We travel a lot of all the time around the world,” he said. “We play under lights, we’ve got a pretty big footprint as international cricketers, but I also think as a sport, we’re quite vulnerable to the environment as well.”