Cricket Australia (CA) says scheduling a Twenty20 match on January 26 is an opportunity to continue an "ongoing education journey" with the Indigenous community, after all-rounder and Muruwari woman Ashleigh Gardner raised concerns about the fixture.
The second Indigenous woman to play Test cricket for Australia, Gardner said the day the first fleet arrived in Australia in 1788 was a "day of hurt and a day of mourning" for Indigenous Australians.
"Unfortunately this year the Australian women's cricket team has been scheduled to play a game on the 26th of Jan which certainly doesn't sit well with me as an individual but also all the people I'm representing," she posted on social media.
"For those who don't have a good understanding of what that day means it was the beginning of genocide, massacres and dispossession."
After Gardner tweeted her concerns, Australian teammates Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Megan Schutt and Hannah Darlington all voiced their support for her stance.
The Australian Cricketers' Association also said: "We're with you, Ash, and encourage others to use the day as one for reflection in the hope of gaining a greater understanding."
Gardner said she would use her profile as a professional cricketer to educate others as to the connotations of the day.
"My culture is something I hold close to my heart and something I'm always so proud to speak about whenever asked," she wrote.
"When I take the field for this game I will certainly be reflecting and thinking about all of my ancestors and peoples' lives who changed from this day."
As part of its Reconciliation Action Plan, CA consults with an Indigenous advisory committee that approved the decision to play the fixture against Pakistan in Hobart on January 26.
The recommendations of the same committee prompted CA to stop referring to January 26 as "Australia Day" in 2021, a change that was met with both criticism and support.
As part of the decision to play on January 26, the Australian team will perform a smoking ceremony before the match and embark on a walk around local mountain kunanyi to learn about the local community.
They will also wear a special Indigenous kit designed by two Indigenous women and have consulted with Dr Janine Mohamed, a Narrunga Kaurna woman and community leader, to understand the impact of January 26 on First Australians.
"Cricket Australia acknowledges 26 January is a day that has multiple meanings and evokes mixed feelings in communities across our richly diverse nation," a CA statement read.
"We respectfully acknowledge it is a challenging day for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and for some people the day is regarded as a day of mourning.
"Cricket Australia understands and acknowledges Ash's position and appreciates her leadership and the contributions of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to the game of cricket.
"We will use the T20 International scheduled for 26 January as an opportunity to continue our ongoing education journey with First Nations people."
The Australian women's team last played on January 26 in 2016, and the men's team in 2019.
After sweeping the ODI series against Pakistan 3-0, Australia's first of three T20s against them will be played at North Sydney Oval on Tuesday before Thursday's game in Hobart and Sunday's clash in Canberra.
The team will then travel to South Africa for the T20 World Cup, which starts on February 12.
AAP
