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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
But it is Tuesday rather than Monday. We need a dose of wisdom and experience, though. I've been looking forward to this conversation ever since the goings-on with Cricket Victoria in the BBL last week and now with what's happening in English cricket. Crash, hello. G'day, Gerard. How are you? So much happening. That much I know.
Yes, there is, Gerard. And I've got to say, there aren't too many times when your jaw drops and just about hits the ground. But when I saw overnight that Ben Stokes is on the verge of being suspended from the England captaincy for a nightclub incident after their first test went over New Zealand, I got to say, I just, my head is just, as I speak to you, my head is still shaking.
So it's happened straight away. As soon as England has returned to duty in test cricket, they've immediately had an incident. And this is one of those things through all the years is we rely on your wisdom and experience. These things don't happen by accident. If you don't properly and adequately deal with something within the culture of a team... it repeats on you.
And this just feels like a direct result of trying not to address things properly from the Ashes series and the Tour of New Zealand earlier in the year.
Well, do you know what? It's such a good point because the whole Brendan McCollum, Ben Stokes reign, yes, sure, it had basball and had aggression and had a sort of flamboyance, but it had a lack of accountability. And, you know, the standards were sloppy. players got away with too much. We had Harry Brooke getting punched by a bouncer in New Zealand and that being kept secret for a few months.
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Chapter 2: What recent incident is Ben Stokes involved in?
We had Ben Duckett out on the streets of Noosa wandering around half shot. We had all those sort of things. So the midnight curfew comes in for this series. Ben Stokes talks to his players on the eve of the test saying, we need to win back public trust.
You know, he tells people we haven't got an alcohol culture and then he goes out and at the first testing of the curfew, he stays out after midnight with Gus Atkinson where they run into a group of rugby players from Saracens who are having an end of season breakup. One of those rugby players allegedly gets into some sort of an issue with Atkinson and
and throws a punch, misses Atkinson, but hits a security guard who now needs stitches. That is the accusation as published in the London Telegraph. So, you know, this is, I mean, what was he doing out after midnight? That was the first thing, you know. And they've been at pains to say, the ECB, that the players were not the aggressors. Gerard, I say this, who cares?
They're involved in a stink after midnight when they should have been, when they said they were going to be in bed.
What chance that it does result in either his suspension or sacking from the captaincy?
Oh, absolutely. Very, very likely. I cannot see any way he can play the second test against New Zealand. And the same with that concern. If they've got any standards at all, apparently McCullum and Rob Key, the director of English cricket, are furious because they weathered the whole thing about... And, Gerard, if you want the punchline, are you waiting for it? Yep.
If he gets suspended as captain, the new captain will be, wait for it, Harry Brooke, the guy who was involved with the bouncer in New Zealand. So then Harry has to face the media and say, it's really important we stand for something and our standards are good and all that, after he was the man who started this mess.
So this is a day which could reshape the future of English cricket, the short term. They've got an Ashes series in a year's time against Australia. And they were looking okay for it, you know. They won well against New Zealand. But an incident like this can have a setback which can flow for years, Gerard.
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Chapter 3: How does team culture affect player behavior in cricket?
Like, if Stokes gets sacked as captain, or if he stands down, he's already had mental health problems. One thing I'll say, they noticed before the game that he was in a very unusual mood, Ben Stokes. He was grumpy and short and almost just at odds with himself. Then even after the game, he was a little bit stroppy. And he said, the first thing I can't wait to do is have a beer with the boys.
Well, that's fair enough. You've won a test. But they had to respect that midnight curfew, Gerard, and they didn't. Do you?
Are you as stunned by this as I am? Yep. They all put their reputations on the line by staring down just the common sense view that change was not only necessary but required. Yeah. and they've fallen at the first hurdle. I mean, it's humiliating. It's humiliating for all of them, those who held their positions and conducted their reviews, but then self-assessed.
Yeah, this doesn't happen by accident, and when you refuse to address cultural issues within a sporting environment, it never works. It never works.
Well, Stokes has had a very complex relationship with alcohol. Of course... He was involved in a famous incident in Bristol about a decade ago where it went to court and he had to stand down and he missed matches. He was found not guilty of a fray in court, but it was humiliating. Last year he went on the wagon. He stopped drinking. He lost a lot of kilograms.
He even invested in a company which makes non-alcoholic drinks. He never swore off the booze for good. But he just ā so he's gone several different ways when it comes to the boos, but this was an area where he simply couldn't go. Like, I was staggered he could be out after midnight because, you know, he's the guy who has to set the standard here. As soon as he broke that rule ā
Everything he'd spoken for, and this is even before the punch-up, but as soon as he was out after midnight, everything he'd said over the last three months meant nothing because he'd broken his own rule. Yep.
So we'll wait to see. Once the Brook incident was revealed post-summer, I truly fear if that had been Australia, the sackings would have come within 48 hours. because of the cover-up and what had been attempted, I feel like the sackings will come within 48 hours now. And we will judge England cricket harshly if they remain in this guise of delusion and inaction.
Hey, I've held off having any private conversations with you, Crash, so we can do it on air regarding the Cricket Victoria's moves last week and how it sparked the privatisation debate to, well, merge two teams and abolish the Stars and the Renegades to set up a new entity, which I feel like it's going to be named the Rangers, and to sell the Renegades licence holus bolus.
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of Ben Stokes' actions for his captaincy?
Like some of the big Indian conglomerates, it's money like we've never seen before. So that will flow into Victorian cricket. And let's just say this too, Victorian cricket was affected ā by COVID more than any other state. And their financials really suffered as a result of that and have never fully recovered. They need cash and I can see why they're doing it.
I'm yet to be convinced this is the right way, but they're having a dip. And the pressure on Todd Greenberg is as great as any sporting administrator in Australia. He has to make this work. He's great friends with the chairman, Mike Baird, who brought him in. And, you know, they're on this mission. But this is his exam paper. This is how Greenberg will be marked as a CEO.
Does the comp work if... there's one team that's privately owned or a couple. That's the bit I grapple with. So Bharat's going to join me in the studio shortly. Say Rajasthan Royals buy the Renegades license, but under the competition rules, they can't bring Indian players in, even if Indian players were made available to them.
I just can't quite get my head around how the comp is going to work with one set of rules when teams are going to have different ownership models.
Yeah, it can work, Gerard. That is one thing I do believe in. I mean, it works in rugby league. You know, some of the teams are privately owned. You've got News Corp having a giant share in the Broncos. You've got the Penn family owning Manly. And it's, you know, I think when a team... steps out, I don't think the fans really care that much.
It's the same with stadiums, you know, Marvel Stadium or around the place. If a private owner's got an investment, do you think a fan sitting in the stand really cares? What does matter is the branding and the naming. You know, if you're calling something after an Indian franchise, Will that alienate some? I think it will, because it's not Australian.
So it is a very complex issue, but it's the argument Australian cricket had to have. It was always going to end up down this way. I just remember when the competition started, they sort of said, should we go for private ownership? No, let's just see if we can hang on. But the trouble is, Australia did not get a great television rights deal.
It has so many bills to pay in cricket, Cricket Australia. It lost $11 million last year. It needs cash. So it's got to look at every option.
All right, let's just stray a little broader, Crash. The World Cup football starts on Friday. Australia plays its first game on Sunday against Turquoise. What are we thinking?
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