Fox Cricket has come under fire from the manager of paceman Josh Hazlewood over a segment where the fast bowler’s comments were used to suggest there is a rift inside the Australian dressing room.
Prominent player manager Neil Maxwell – who also manages Test captain Pat Cummins – has taken aim at the host broadcaster, saying it had taken Hazlewood’s remarks at a press conference out of context in a “desperation to create controversy”.
Josh Hazlewood’s manager has hit out at Fox Cricket.Credit: Getty Images
Maxwell was highly critical of the cricket media’s reaction to Australia’s heavy loss in the first Test, but saved his most savage comments for Cricket Australia’s pay TV partner for “misconstruing” what Hazlewood had said.
Hazlewood, the No.11, had distanced himself from the side’s batters after stumps on the third night when asked by a reporter, “How do you approach tomorrow? What happens tonight, and what do you do tomorrow to try and turn it around?”
“You probably have to ask one of the batters that question,” Hazlewood replied. “I’m sort of relaxing and trying to get a bit of physio and a bit of treatment, and I’m probably looking mostly towards the next Test and what plans we can do against these batters.
“I guess the batters are just sticking to what they do, their preparation. They’ll have a hit in the morning and talk around plans of what happened in the first innings, how they can negate that and move forward and improve on that.”
Hazlewood’s comments were replayed the following day to launch a discussion chaired by Adam Gilchrist and featuring panellists David Warner, Michael Vaughan and Ravi Shastri on whether or not there was a rift in the team.
Gilchrist referred to Hazlewood’s comments, saying, “That to me tells me there’s potentially a divided change room. I don’t know if that’s the case, I might be reading too much into that”, before throwing open the chat.
The suggestion was denied at the official presentation after play on the final day by Cummins, but there had already been reports quoting Vaughan and Shastri that were critical of Hazlewood and the team.
The Fox Cricket discussion has since been posted to the broadcaster’s official YouTube channel, accompanied by the headline “‘Staggering’ Has Hazlewood created divide in Australian locker room? Aussies in crisis mode” and emojis denoting a worried face and a red cross.
A screenshot of the video uploaded to the Fox Cricket YouTube channel.Credit: YouTube
Maxwell did not refer to Gilchrist directly but was scathing of the Test great turned presenter’s interpretation of Hazlewood’s response.
“It’s taken so out of context and in a negative light,” Maxwell told this masthead. “You’ve never seen a closer bunch of players than the players in the last two years of Australian cricket.
“To draw that assumption from a comment from a No.11 batter saying, ‘You better ask one of the batters’ is so ridiculous. They lose complete and utter credibility.”
Gilchrist was contacted for comment.
Maxwell said reactions such as those in Fox Cricket’s discussion made players wary of speaking to the media.
“There’s a desperation to create controversy, when you’ve got 40 [members of the] cricket media all trying to get a daily story,” Maxwell said. “I just think there’s no incentive for players to provide any colour in a response.
“If you want to disincentivise players from speaking or providing any personality, the media is going about it the right way, and the rights holders.
“Some of the interpretations from what Josh said is looking to create trouble.”
Contacted for comment, Fox Sports said through a spokesperson: “What makes our commentary team the best in the world is their decades of experience, knowledge of the game and courage to call what they see.
“Our audiences choose Fox Cricket, not only for the broadcast experience, but to hear from the best callers and analysts of the game.”
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