The T20 International Tournament in South Africa is slated to begin in the coming days. Sporting analysts, athletes and coaching staff are already mentally preparing themselves for the onslaught of racist behaviour. South African viewers have become infamous in recent years for expressing ignorant and abusive comments towards Caucasian athletes. This is why Aaron Finch from the Australian National Team has promised to ignore the racist behaviour, to represent his nation with pride.
White tourists from Australia are concerned with attending this venue, with verbal taunts towards their stadium presence becoming stronger each year. It’s prompted lower visitation numbers from international supporters, with most of these South Africans recalling the “Sandpaper Scandal”. This crisis created a formidable fallout for the Australians, with Steve Smith being forced to resign his captaincy. This extended to David Warren and Cameron Bancroft, who faced significant backlash but remained with the Australians. Security forces are being amplified to account for the safety of Warren and Cameron, as well as all other players with the Australian cricket team.
Aaron Finch Speaks Out
The new captain for the Australian Cricket Team spoke to reporters regarding the T20 International. He expressed that South African supporters are passionate, regardless of their surroundings or the local law enforcement. Our team expects that abusive comments will be uttered, and David Warren loves the banter anyways. Aaron Finch mentioned that visitors in the stands can act in any manner but that they won’t cave to their comments. Aaron Finch will use the assistance of coaching staff to keep all team members calm and level-headed. All players with the Australians that remained after the Sandpaper Scandal will use each other for inspiration to strengthen their resolve on the field.
The Head Coach, Justin Langer, also spoke with Australian reporters on the upcoming competition. He mentioned that all three players returned to the team without any difficulties, integrating into the new strategies with professionalism in mind. Justin noted that good work has been done and that they’re ready to prove themselves to South African supporters. Langer did express that the last tour was challenging for Aaron Finch and David Warren but that he’s proud of their behaviour following the scandal. Justin Langer finished his statements by mentioning sporting analysts and South Africans shouldn’t count the Australians out as they’ll compete harder than ever at the 2020 T20 International.
