The top management of the Australian cricket team reportedly had heated arguments with a Cricket Australia website staffer over the posting of a video on Bangladesh’s celebrations in the wake of a series win by the Tigers against the visitors.
Bangladesh had never won a series against Australia in any format of the game before the T20I matches that took place earlier this month. Bangladesh won the five-match T20I series 4-1. Australia managed to win only one game in the series, thanks to a 30-run over by Shakib Al Hasan, in which Dan Christian had smashed five sixes.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian cricket coach Justin Langer and team manager Gavin Dovey were involved in the animated argument. The New South Wales-based media outlet, however, did not reveal the name of the staffer.
The video is still on the CA website, which shows the celebrations of the Bangladeshi cricket team post their third game win against Australia. That game had confirmed the series win for the Tigers.
In the video, the Bangladesh cricketers can be seen celebrating in the field right after Mahedi Hasan defended 22 in the last over of the third T20I. The video also captured Nazmul Hasan, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president, along with some directors, applauding the team on the win.
In the video, some Bangladeshi players can also be heard singing “We Shall Overcome”, a song adopted as the unofficial team anthem years ago, in the dressing room.
According to the SMH report, the incident took place at the team hotel, following the series-clinching third game. The incident was witnessed by at least a dozen people and left some players taken aback and with a sense of unease about what took place.
The report also said the matter was first raised by Dovey. He told the staffer that it’s not appropriate to post a Bangladesh celebration video on a website operated by CA. But the staffer stood his ground over the issue. Subsequently, Langer aimed at the staffer as well.
Dovey has already talked about it publicly. He was quoted by SMH as saying, “A healthy team environment includes the ability to have honest and frank discussions, whether it be between players, support staff or others within the team environment, which was the case here.”
“There was a difference of opinion and we agreed to disagree on a particular matter. In hindsight, it was one of those instances which should have taken place in private. I take full ownership of that.”
Australia played the five-match series against Bangladesh in a span of seven days, following a three-day quarantine after arriving in Dhaka. They lost another five-match T20I series 4-1 against the West Indies, which took place right before their Bangladesh tour.
Source: United News of Bangladesh