India, Australia join unique ‘barefoot circle’ ceremony before start of Sydney ODI

When it comes to tackling racism in cricket, one has seen teams taking a knee to express their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement. However, in Australia, they have taken a unique step in supporting the anti-racism movement. A month before the start of the India series, Cricket Australia announced the barefoot circle movement. This statement was created broadly to connect with Aboriginal culture and the land on which matches are played. Pat Cummins had said that it was the team's way of demonstrating an anti-racism feeling as well as celebrating the indigenous culture of Australia.

Before the start of the Sydney ODI, both Indian cricket team and Australian cricket teams stood around an Aboriginal mural and stood barefoot in support of the indigenous people of Australia. The ‘barefoot circle’ is one of the symbolic statements made by Australia as they look to grapple with the injustice committed on the Aboriginals in early times.

Acknowledging history

“The barefoot circle is a cricket centric way for players and teams to take a moment prior to matches to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land, connect to each other as opponents and pay respect to the country. This is done barefoot as a way to connect to country, but also a moment to reflect that we are all common ground, we are all human beings and we need to stand strong with each other, for each other,” Cricket Australia said.

The Australian cricket team will also sport a special jersey for the Twenty20 International series which has been designed taking into account the aboriginal way of culture and life. Following the end of the ODI series, Australia and India will take part in three T20Is.

Only a couple of months ago Australia opted not to take a knee during their limited-overs series against England. Captain Aaron Finch at the time said that “education around this is more important than a protest”. Following the ceremony, Justin Langer pulled his squad into a huddle for a moment of reflection.

Australia won the toss and chose to bat against India, with David Warner smashing a fifty and Aaron Finch becoming the second-quickest Australian to 5000 ODI runs.