Cricket culture review: Merv Hughes rubbishes claims Australian players are arrogant
FORMER Australian selector Merv Hughes has rubbished claims made in the Cricket Australia review that the Australian players are arrogant.
The twin reviews into the culture of the game in Australia found that there was a perception of arrogance within the Australian men’s team.
However Hughes had some stern reservations about the findings.
“I’m a little bit sceptical about the report,” Hughes told SEN Breakfast.
“I know a lot of time and effort has gone into it and basically what you see on the surface is a lot different to what you get behind the scenes.
“I’m still privileged where I get the opportunity to get behind the scenes and arrogant is one word I wouldn’t associate with the Australian players.
“You sit there and scratch your head a bit and say: ‘has it been worthwhile?’ A lot of people are going to read this and make of it what they want.
“I sit there and scratch my head, and as I said, arrogance is one word I don’t associate with the Australian cricket team.”
Hughes remains convinced that the Australian players play good, hard and fair cricket and labelling them arrogant is unfair and unfounded.
“There’s a fine line between confident in your own ability and arrogance and once you become arrogant you don’t respect the opposition and you don’t respect the game,” Hughes said.
“If you’ve got the opportunity to get within the Australian cricket team that’s not the case, the case is they respect the game, they respect the opposition, they play hard and they play to win.
“Some people think that’s arrogant – I don’t.”
Former Test wicketkeeper Brad Haddin echoed Hughes’ sentiments and says it’s important for everyone to finally move on from the ball tampering scandal.
The damning independent report in the wake of the sandpaper scandal in South Africa painted a grim picture of Cricket Australia’s culture.
Words such as arrogant, dictatorial, controlling, disrespectful, and hypocritical were used to describe the culture that festered within Australian cricket.
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Haddin was part of the Test team from 2008-2015. During that period, Australia were involved in a number of controversial run-ins with their rivals.
When asked whether words like arrogant and bullying were fair descriptions of Australian cricket of the past, Haddin replied: “No, I don’t think it is.
“The independent review got done, everyone gets to have their say openly and honestly, and that’s what you want.
“From our point of view, we’re moving forward. It’s been six months since South Africa. A lot of water has gone under the bridge.
“We’ve got start rebuilding the cricket team to start winning games for Australia and get a cricket team that Australia can be proud of.”
Australian cricket has been regularly criticised for its win-at-all-costs mentality. It is a mentality that players believed existed during the ball- tampering scandal in South Africa.
Haddin said it was important to win, but it needed to be achieved in the right manner.
“No matter what sport you play, you always want to win,” said Haddin, who is now an assistant coach to Justin Langer in the Australian set-up.
“But you’ve got to do it with humility. We’re all involved in sport to win games and grow cricket teams.
“But there’s a right and a wrong way to do it.”
When asked whether there was a finer line now in regards to sledging, Haddin replied: “There’s not a finer line. I think you’re trying to look for something that’s not there.”
Australia endured a miserable tour of the UAE, losing to Pakistan 1-0 in the Test series, before copping a 3-0 pounding in the T20s.
Players will get the chance to atone during the three-match ODI series against South Africa, starting in Perth on Sunday.