Five Times Australia Cricketers And Fans Played 'The Dirty Game' And Racially Abused Foreign Cricketers

Australian crowd is in massive controversy after team India reported racial abuse on a couple of its players including Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar trophy. The incident happened after Day 3 of the Sydney Test came to a close when the Indian players were walking back to the dugout.

However, Australia cricket has always been guilty of throwing racial jibes at fellow cricketers from other nations. Be it the Aussie cricketers or the Aussies fans, they have time and again played the dirty game of sledging and racial abuse and in this article, we’ll tell you about the 5 incidents when Australian cricketers and fans were involved in racial abuse.

Five Instances Australian Cricketers And Fans Were Involved In Racial Abuse:

5. When Moeen Ali Was Termed A Terrorist

English all-rounder Moeen Ali has been one of the many victims that have had to face the Australian racial abuse. The incident occurred in the 2015 Ashes when Moeen Ali was termed as ‘Osama’, in reference to the former terrorist Osama bin Laden, by an Australian cricketer in a Test match.

The incident came to light in 2018 when Moeen Ali wrote in his autobiography, “An Australian player had turned to me on the field and said, ‘Take that, Osama.’ I could not believe what I had heard. I remember going really red. I have never been so angry on a cricket field.”

English coach Trevor Bayliss made it clear that Moeen Ali did not want to create a ruckus in the ongoing series and thus, he did not make a big issue out of it.

4. When Darren Lehmann Threw Racial Jibes At Sri Lanka Players

Former Australian cricketer and coach, Darren Lehmann has also confessed of throwing racial jibes at the Sri Lankan players during a game in the ODI series vs Sri Lanka in 2003. Lehmann was run out by Sri Lankan players during a game and while walking back to the pavilion, Lehmann said, “black c****.”

Later on, Darren Lehmann admitted that he had done so and claimed that he still thinks it to be the ‘biggest mistake’ of his life. “It was a big mistake, and it was a big learning curve in my career,” Lehmann said about the incident years later.

He went on to apologize Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya wrote an apology to the Sri Lanka team. Sri Lanka did not lodge a formal complaint but ICC stepped in and Lehmann was banned for five matches.

3. When Glenn McGrath Abused Sanath Jayasuriya

Australian pacer Glenn McGrath has been among the greatest fast bowlers in world cricket. He has clinched a lot of wickets in the international circuit. Considered to be among the legends of the game, McGrath was the most fearsome pacer in the era of greats like Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, and Sourav Ganguly. However, his Australian blood was also fuming more often than not.

Former Sri Lankan player Roshan Mahanama had accused Glenn McGrath of racially abusing Sanath Jayasuriya, former Sri Lankan batting legend during a game between Sri Lanka and Australia in 1996. Mahanama said that Jayasuriya had told his Sri Lanka teammates that he had been abused by McGrath. “Glenn is a great bowler. But that doesn’t allow him to say whatever he wants to the other players,” he had said.

However, the entire Australian team and McGrath himself kept denying the fact and never acknowledged it, quite like the Australians are used to doing.

2. When Dean Jones Racially Abused Hashim Amla

Former Australian cricketer and commentator, Dean Jones was also involved in a massive racist controversy when he was caught racially abusing former South African batsman, Hashim Amla. Notably, Jones had called Amla a terrorist in live TV and was then banned by the employer, Ten Sports.

The incident took place in a game between Sri Lanka and South Africa and Dean Jones was commentating on air. He made this remark their itself and had to bear the brunt of his wrongdoing. When Amla, who is a devout Muslim, took the catch to dismiss Kumar Sangakkara, Jones was heard to say “the terrorist has got another wicket”.

1. Australian Fans Throw Racial Jibes At Jasprit Bumrah And Mohammed Siraj

Another ugly racial abuse incident occurred on the Australian soil when the Australian fans racially abused Indian pacers Mohammed Soraj and Jasprit Bumrah during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar trophy. The Indian team management filed an official complaint to the ICC by match referee David Boon.

The incident took place when team India walked back to the pavilion after the end of the 3rd day’s play in the Sydney Test. The fans racially abused Siraj and Bumrah as they were seemingly unhappy with the Indian pacers after their herculean performance in the Test series.