Justin Langer regrets not discussing Australia’s BLM stance more

Australia captain Aaron Finch previously said his team decided against taking a knee after raising the matter with England skipper Eoin Morgan because "education around it is more important than the protest."

Australia cricket coach Justin Langer regrets there were not more conversations among the squad about taking a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement before matches on the ongoing white-ball tour of England.

While players from the England and West Indies teams took the symbolic position on the field before the start of every match in their three-test series in July, the same has not happened during Australia’s tour.

Australia captain Aaron Finch previously said his team decided against taking a knee after raising the matter with England skipper Eoin Morgan because “education around it is more important than the protest.” That brought a stinging rebuke from West Indies great Michael Holding, who has called the response from England and Australia “lame.”

Asked on Tuesday about Australia’s stance on the Black Lives Matter movement, Langer acknowledged it could have been discussed more upon the squad’s arrival in England as the first sports team from Australia to travel overseas since the COVID-19 pandemic broke.

‘No one has forgotten about Black Lives Matter’: Jofra Archer tells Michael Holding

“In terms of taking a knee, to be completely honest, we could have talked more about it perhaps leading up to the first game,” Langer said.

“There was so much going on leading up to us getting here, maybe we should have talked more about it. What we do talk about within the team, was that we want to have a response that is sustained and powerful, and that it can go not just in one action but a sustained period not just throughout this series and the summer but throughout time.”

Langer described Holding, who has been a vocal advocate of Black Lives Matter, as “one of the great people in world sport, and certainly our game.”

“I just hope,” Langer said, “if it looked like there was a lack of respect, it wasn’t the intention of our team. We were very aware of it. When Mikey says what he says, it’s certainly worth listening to.”

Australia has one game left of its tour, and it’s Wednesday’s decider in the ODI series against England that stands at 1-1.

? The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest Sports News, download Indian Express App.

Source: Read Full Article