Former Test bowler Stuart Clark says it’s not worth getting into a war of words with Todd Greenberg after the ABC was sensationally banned from interviewing players over his criticism of senior Cricket Australia (CA) figures on Monday.
Australian cricketers weren’t made available to the public broadcaster after Day 3 of the Sydney Test on Tuesday in response to Clark’s savage on-air attack of selector George Bailey and head of cricket James Allsopp while commentating on ABC radio.
CA CEO Greenberg said he felt Clark’s criticism was ‘personal’ and ‘out of order’ after he said: ‘James Allsopp who runs cricket in Australia, the head of cricket, community cricket, is a grade club cricket coach that throws underarm balls to kids.’
‘That’s what his background is. He’s a lovely guy, don’t get me wrong. But he now runs the whole of cricket. He can’t tell [coach] Andrew McDonald or [captain] Steve Smith what to do,’ Clark said.
‘[Ben Oliver] runs high-performance cricket, but I’m not really sure what he does now.
‘Then you have George [Bailey], who is the chairman of selectors. Does he have the gravitas or the leadership skills to tell Andrew McDonald and Steve Smith or Pat Cummins what to do? He should do, 100 per cent, but I don’t think he does.’
After being told players would not be available to talk to the ABC after the day’s play, ABC commentator Corbin Middlemas slammed CA on air.
‘It is extremely disappointing from the fact that people in the regions and people who listen to ABC radio right across the country that obviously at this time don’t get the chance to hear from the Australian cricket team,’ Middlemas said.
Former Test fast bowler Stuart Clark’s attack on senior Cricket Australia officials while commentating prompted the governing body to ban the ABC from interviewing players
Cricket Australia boss Todd Greenberg felt Clark’s comments were ‘personal’
‘The Australian team is a public good. It is not a private team, not private enterprise.
‘They are the custodians of the game as it sits at the moment….and it is a team all Australians have a stake in.’
Clark revealed later that he had talked with Greenberg about his comments but refused to further ignite the issue.
‘I am not going to get into a public spat with Todd. I have known Todd for 20-odd years. We worked together at the NRL. We are friends. We played golf together,’ he said.
‘We have had disagreements. We will continue to have disagreements. We obviously don’t agree and that’s cool.
‘From my point of view there is no point in having a war of words about this other than to confirm that I went and found Todd.’
The incident was also slammed by most Aussies online with one person saying: ‘Banning the media because they say something you don’t like is a dangerous game.’
‘Took a leaf out of the Indian Cricket Board’s book. Criticise them and they will punish you,’ another said.
Steve Smith was made available to media after scoring a century on Tuesday – but the ABC was not able to talk to him due to Cricket Australia’s actions
Clark played 24 Test matches for Australia and has since been involved in commentary and sports administration
‘Australian Cricket, profitable through interest from the Australian public, bans Australian broadcaster, that’s 100 per cent funded by the Australian people, for an opinion made by one ex-Australian cricketer about another ex-Australian cricketer,’ a third said.
There is no contractual obligation for CA to provide the ABC with a player, but it is expected post-play interviews will resume as normal on Wednesday.
Clark, a former fast bowler who played for New South Wales, took 94 wickets across 24 Test matches for Australia.
He retired in 2007 and would later go on to be appointed as the general manager of the Sydney Sixers Big Bash League team.
He departed his role in 2012, and would later be appointed NSW Rugby League’s chief operating officer.
Clark also pointed out on Tuesday that he has, at times, been very complimentary of the selectors and people at Cricket Australia.
‘So that seems to be missed. It’s not just all a one-way street,’ he said.
