Alyssa Healy has set off a debate among fans by good-naturedly criticising Channel Seven for shunting the women’s team off the broadcaster’s main channels in favour of the men’s side as both outfits recorded stunning wins on Saturday.
Australia smashed England off the field to win the day-night Test at the MCG and take the women’s Ashes 16-0, while the men gave Sri Lanka a record drubbing to win the first Test by an innings and 242 runs.
With Seven holding the rights to both series, the women’s matches have been dropped to the 7Mate or 7Two channels to make way for the men when both contests were on at the same time – a fact Healy raised when she was interviewed straight after her team’s triumph.
Asked about the record crowd at the MCG and the ratings for the Ashes series, Healy responded, ‘I think hopefully they just don’t bump us to 7Mate next time when we’re watching, instead of the boys.’
Her remark drew loud cheers from the crowd as Healy laughed and added, ‘No, I’m just kidding,’ before going on to praise the TV coverage of both the men’s and women’s series.
Her point set off a debate among cricket fans, with many backing her stance but others criticising her for what they saw as an attempt to start a debate over political correctness.
Alyssa Healy drew a huge cheer from the crowd at the MCG when she light-heartedly criticised Channel Seven for putting women’s cricket in the back seat this week
The Aussie skipper (pictured with the Ashes series trophy at the MCG on Saturday) might have been having a good-natured crack at Seven, but her comments were taken very seriously by cricket fans
‘Good on her calling them out,’ one fan wrote on X.
‘That was awesome. Because it’s true,’ added another.
‘Need them on prime time!! So good to watch the girls in a proper stadium in person and watch it on tv too!’ said a third.
However, the commenters appeared to be evenly split, with many saying Healy was ignoring the reasons behind Seven’s decision and trying to turn the broadcaster’s decision into a political football.
‘Well played, dominant by the Women, but does she understand the commercial reality of tv?’ one asked.
‘They are on a secondary channel for a reason. They do not rate anywhere near the numbers of men’s Test matches. Pure and simple. If and when they out rate the men, they will be put on the main channel. I don’t see this happening in the foreseeable future,’ another commented.
‘They will do whatever the viewing public dictates. Get more viewers, get the prime spot. It’s not a DEI matter,’ wrote a third.
Healy’s comments came after former federal opposition leader Mark Latham set off a firestorm with cricket fans when he blasted what he saw as the ‘woke’ addition of Annabel Sutherland to the honour board of Aussie stars who’ve made a century at the MCG.
Sutherland’s century against England in their ongoing test was the first by an Australian woman at the MCG and the first by a Victorian-born player, male or female, since Graham Yallop in 1983.
Australia’s Alana King (right) celebrates a wicket as her amazing bowling played a huge role in the home side’s victory by an innings and 122 runs
The Aussie women recorded the first whitewash in female Ashes history – and sent England home embarrassed
Former federal opposition leader Mark Latham was hammered by cricket fans for branding the addition of Annabel Sutherland to an MCG honour roll as a ‘woke’ move
On Saturday, the MCG formally honoured Sutherland by stencilling her name to the prestigious wooden honour board to list Australian century-makers at the venue, but Latham said there should be a distinction made between men’s and women’s tons.
‘A very, very special addition to the MCG honour boards. A. J. Sutherland, the first woman to have her named etched in history for a test Century at the ‘G,’ the MCG’s media team posted on X.
But Latham questioned the inclusion of women on the honour board.
‘Might think it’s her dad. Shouldn’t the woke add pronouns?’ he asked with laughing emojis.
The MCG social media team fired back, saying his comment indicated he did not know who her father is – former Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland.
‘Her Dad’s name is James which does not start with the letter A. Hope this helps,’ the reply said.
Latham was not finished there, though, saying many cricketers used their middle name as their preferred name, so a first initial could be misleading.
‘AJ. could be like MC Cowdrey, CG Greenidge or with one of your old patrons, JM Fraser. Very confusing. Needs a pronoun,’ he added.
A fan shot back at the former ALP leader, turned One Nation NSW leader.
‘James Sutherland never played Test cricket and was no more than a handy tailender. You were closer to being prime minister than he was to making a test ton, and that is concerning enough,’ a fan responded.
