James Faulkner
James Faulkner (Credits: BCCI)

Out of favour Australia all-rounder James Faulkner celebrated his 29th birthday on Monday (April 29). The allrounder, who was an indispensable part of Australia’s limited-overs team a couple of years ago, has completely fallen down the pecking order in recent months.  Faulkner represented Australia in 69 ODIs, 24 T20Is and a solitary Test. He played an integral part in Australia’s victorious campaign at the 2015 World Cup. The all-rounder had won the Man of the Match award in the 2015 World Cup final.

But he soon lost his form and has now completely lost his place in the national team. In fact, he is not even close to getting a recall any time soon. And on Monday Faulkner hogged the headlines again. However, this time it was not for cricketing reasons but for something else. The fast-bowling allrounder, who last played for Australia way back in February 2017, made a big announcement on his birthday.

Australia's James Faulkner Reveals He's Gay On Birthday
James Faulkner (Credits: Getty)

Faulkner took to Instagram to reveal that he is in a same sex relationship. The World Cup-winner shared a photograph of himself having dinner with his mother Roslyn Carol Faulkner and his boyfriend of five years, Rob Jubb.

“Birthday dinner with the boyfriend @robjubbsta and my mother @roslyn_carol_faulkner #togetherfor5years,” wrote James Faulkner.

Well, Faulkner is not the first high profile name from sports to reveal his gay identity. However, men athletes especially in cricket are very few in numbers. In 2011, former England international Steven Davies became cricket;s first active professional player to announce that he is gay. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who played 8 ODIs and 5 T20Is, made his revelations in a newspaper interview with The Daily Telegraph.

Last year, South Africa women’s cricket team captain Dane van Niekerk and teammate Marizanne Kapp tied the knot, becoming the second couple among the current batch of international cricketers to get married. Before them, New Zealand cricketers Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu had tied the knot.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by James Faulkner (@jfaulkner44) on

Read More  Watch: 'Furious' Rishabh Pant's bat-bashing outburst after disappointing performance vs RR goes viral

An avid cricket lover, I just love this game more than anything. Writing about cricket keeps me closer to the game.