West Indian Hayley Matthews appreciative of support for using WBBL platform to take stance on “systematic racism”

Star West Indian Hayley Matthews has thanked not only her Hurricanes teammates but opposition WBBL players for their support as she uses the platform to take a stance on racism

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HURRICANES import Hayley Matthews has expressed her gratitude for the backing she has received in showing her support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Both Hobart and Adelaide Strikers players took a knee prior to their opening WBBL match last weekend, a gesture the Hurricanes will continue throughout the tournament.

West Indian Matthews, back in purple this summer after missing last year’s edition and the majority of the 2018-19 summer due to a knee injury, has described the importance of using her profile and the WBBL platform to help educate against “systematic racism”.

Players take a knee prior to the Women's Big Bash League match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Hobart Hurricanes at Hurstville Oval, on October 25, 2020, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brett Hemmings – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

And she couldn’t have asked for more support from her own teammates and opposition players.

“Us as West Indians, myself and Stefanie Taylor, we were quite passionate about the movement and we really wanted to be able to use our platform I guess to go out there and enlighten the situation,” Matthews told the Mercury ahead of the Hurricane’s clash against Brisbane.

“The entire team has been really supportive of that and the Strikers were also really supportive of that.

“It is brilliant to be able to come over here and express ourselves like that.

Hayley Matthews in action during the Women's Big Bash League match between the Hobart Hurricanes and the Melbourne Stars at West Park on December 9, 2018 in Launceston, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

“Obviously it is very hard to see what has been happening throughout the world, especially in the USA, when it comes to systematic racism.

“As players, we just want to be able to use our platform to really educate people about what is going on and keep that conversation going.

“When we do something like taking a knee on the field, a lot of people are going to be watching and that means people asking questions.”

Matthews paid tribute to captain Corinne Hall, who broached the topic prior to the team’s first match.

“What was really good was my captain Corinne Hall, she actually asked me about the matter.

“I already had it in the back of my mind, we were able to have the conversation and I could let her know what I wanted to do.

“I have always felt very comfortable within the Hurricanes squad and we had a conversation about it as a team and everyone showed their full support and said they were happy to take that stance with me, which is obviously really appreciated.”

All eight captains and the WBBL’s Indigenous players have committed to perform an Indigenous Barefoot Circle ceremony before each game to show their commitment to reconciliation.

Members of the Strikers and Hurricanes take part in a barefoot ceremony prior to the Women's Big Bash League match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Hobart Hurricanes at Hurstville Oval, on October 25, 2020, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Hall said it was up to each team to decide on how they wanted to support the Black Lives Matter cause, and the entire Hobart squad was behind Matthews.

“There has been plenty of conversations around the hub in the last week or so which has been really eye opening, confronting at times, but something we have to continue to talk about,” she said.

“There will be different ways they [other teams] express their response, which is equally within their rights and respectful.

“We were definitely united in passionately supporting our people, it is something we pride ourselves on.

“One of our team behaviours is sticking together and looking out for each other. We are all committed to creating awareness and further educating ourselves, that’s the big piece to it.”

The Hurricanes meet Brisbane at the Sydney Showground Stadium at 3.40pm Saturday, and clash with the Melbourne Stars at Drummoyne Oval at 2.30pm Sunday.

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