AUSTRALIAN CRICKET

Haddin rejects 'arrogant' claim by culture review

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

Haddin claimed Australian cricket has moved forward from the Newlands incident and was keen on rebuilding the national side © Getty

Despite an independent review delivering a scathing report on the prevalent culture of Australian cricket on and off the field, former wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said that it is unfair to tag Australian cricket as arrogant. He also noted that it has to move on from the ball tampering incident that unfurled at Newlands earlier in the year and is now focussed on rebuilding the side.

When asked whether words such as arrogant, bullying and disrespectful give a fair picture of the Australian set-up, he said, "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 to start rebuilding the cricket team to start winning games for Australia and get a cricket team that Australia can be proud of."

The review that was set up in the wake of the ball tampering incident had observed that Australia's players were living in a "gilded bubble - disconnected, for much of each year, from families, friends and the grounding influence of community".

The 145-page review also said that Cricket Australia's top brass need to take the fair share of the responsibility "for the circumstances that gave rise to the ball-tampering incident... not as a matter of direct, personal culpability but as a demonstration of responsible leadership and accountability".

Haddin, on his part, observed that in the professional word of sports, "you always want to win" but need to strike the right balance between being respectful and competitive.

"No matter what sport you play, you always want to win," said Haddin, who is now an assistant coach 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."

© Cricbuzz

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