Cricket Australia has adopted a naming convention that will see its men’s and women’s international teams referred to in the same manner.
All official communication will now identify either the Australian Men’s Cricket Team or the Australian Women’s Cricket Team. While the Southern Stars will still be used colloquially, it is no longer the official name for the Australian Women’s Cricket Team.
The decision was announced to the current Australian Women’s World Cup squad, and members of past World Cup winning teams, at a special function in Brisbane on Saturday night. The evening celebrated the achievements of the teams that won in 1978, 1982, 1988, 1997, 2005 and 2013.
The Chairman of Cricket Australia, David Peever, said: “This move may appear symbolic, but it does carry considerable weight. Cricket cannot hope to be a sport for all Australians if it does not recognise the power of words, and the respect for women that sits behind such decisions.’’
Mr Peever said the challenge had been issued at an Australian cricket conference last year by leading businesswoman Ann Sherry.
“Ann rightly questioned whether we were walking the talk, whether we understood what it takes to be truly gender neutral, and a sport that is welcoming to women.”
Mr Peever said the Board of Cricket Australia had approved the naming convention, and it would apply across all communications.
“As we saw on Saturday night, Australia’s female cricketers are among the very best sportspeople this country has ever produced. Australia has captured six of the 10 World Cup titles, winning more than 87 percent of the matches it has contested, an astonishing figure. Today’s team is ranked number one in the world across all three formats of the game.
“We are not dropping the Southern Stars, a wonderful brand that our cricketers have created and which will remain as an alternative name for the team, but the new naming convention demonstrates that Cricket Australia is looking at all the ways in which it operates to ensure we can meet the ambition of being a sport for all.”
Social media accounts which use the Southern Stars name will remain, because of their strong following, but the official name and logo will be changed to reflect the new convention.
