Star Test opener Usman Khawaja is happy to play cricket on January 26 but says it’s not the right date to be celebrating Australia Day.
The 2023-24 summer of cricket will include a pink-ball, day-night Test between Australia and the West Indies starting at the Gabba on January 25.
Indigenous women’s cricket star Ash Gardner has slammed the scheduling, saying it wasn’t “appropriate” to be playing sport on a “day of mourning”.
“I see sport as a celebration and entertainment and an event you want to go to,” Gardner said on Sunday.
“Why does there need to be something that represents something that’s quite morbid?”
Pakistan-born Khawaja, who moved to Australia as a child with his family, said he did not “have an issue” with playing on January 26,
However, he called for Australia Day to be celebrated on a different date.
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“We should celebrate it on a day that caters for all parts of Australia, and I’m big on that in Australian cricket too,” he said.
“You’ve got First Nations people, we’ve got myself (who are) immigrants who’ve come to Australia.
“We do need to look at it. I think it doesn’t matter when you celebrate Australia Day – the reasons you’re celebrating Australia Day are more important.
“You’re celebrating for Australia, celebrating for you, celebrating for me, celebrating it for First Nations people, celebrating for all the multicultural communities we have across Australia.
“We’re all immigrants here, other than First Nations people, so for me, Australia Day is a beautiful day and I honestly believe it should be celebrated on another day.”
Speaking to reporters at the MCG on Monday morning, CA scheduling boss Peter Roach said the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cricket Advisory Committee was “supportive” of the schedule.
“We really respect Ash’s opinion and understand that for many Australians and Indigenous Australians especially that’s a day that has different meaning,” Roach said.
“What we do know is we have a really tight schedule where we need to fit lots of games and we make those decisions with all those factors taken into account and try and make it work for us.
“We consult widely on this, whether we should play games on the 26th of January, and through our own internal group called NATSICAC, we ask their opinion and seek their feedback and think all things considered starting on the 26th of January was an appropriate time.
“My job is balancing lost of things, lots of stakeholders, lots of different groups and lots of opinions. We try and find the best outcome for Australian cricket.”
Australian captain Meg Lanning confirmed her support for Gardner but also said scheduling was “out of the players’ hands”.
“I’m fully supportive of Ash and her stance, as is the team,” she said.
“We understand it’s a very sensitive issue for a lot of people. The scheduling is a little bit out of control of the players’ hands.
“As a group we are undertaking a lot of education around Indigenous culture and trying to learn as much as we can and will continue to do that.
“We’ll leave the scheduling to those who make those decisions and make sure we are in the best position to understand what’s happening.”
Queensland captain Khawaja said he was excited about a day-night Test being played at the Gabba but hoped the Brisbane venue would eventually be restored as the ground for the summer’s first Test.
“Everyone knows I love day-night Test cricket. I get to have a sleep in. I get to come in late, I’m feeling good about myself … the pink ball can be a little bit troubling as an opening batsman, but I’ll accept that for a little bit more of a sleep,” he said.
“I expect the Gabba to get that first Test back in the future years. You want to be playing that Gabba first Test match and you don’t want to be playing too many late (summer) Test matches at the Gabba because that’s when the rains start coming too.
“You got to be mindful of that.”
Khawaja also called for the SCG to remain the ongoing home of the New Year’s Test despite a push from South Australia’s government for Adelaide Oval to become the new home for the early January Test.
“I do like change but I’ve always just been Boxing Day (Test in Melbourne) and the New Year’s (Test in Sydney),” the 36-year-old former NSW batter said.
“For the last few years it’s rained a little bit (in Sydney) and people are getting a little bit annoyed with that, but we’ve had some great Test matches at the SCG, even with the rain … but the scheduling is changing all the time.
“I do like Boxing Day (in Melbourne) into Sydney. It’s a nice time of the year, it is a family period for us players, our wives and our children are normally there too.”
