Australia Cricket Team Becomes First Sporting Side To Sing Country’s Recently Changed National Anthem
Changes to the Australia national anthem was made amidst concerns over the wordings excluding the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have inhabited Australia for tens of thousands years long before it was colonised by the British in the 18th century. The second line of Advance Australia Fair was changed as a matter.
The Australia national cricket team became the sporting side from the country to sing the new/different version of the national anthem. The Advance National Fair, which is the national anthem of Australia, underwent a slight change in its wordings with the government announcing that the country will no longer be referred as “young and free” in the national anthem. The second line of the national anthem will be said as “We are one and free” replacing the existing line “For we are young and free”. The change was announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on New Year’s Eve and has been put to effect since January 1. Australia's National Anthem Change: Historic Change to Advance Australia Fair to Implement 'the Spirit of Unity'.
Australian cricket team, led by captain Tim Paine, sang the new version of the national anthem thereby creating history when they took the field for the opening day of the third Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 7 (Thursday).
The change was made amidst concerns over the mentioned wordings excluding the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have inhabited Australia for tens of thousands years long before it was colonised by the British in the 18th century. The change in the wordings of the national anthem was proposed by New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who suggested that the previous wordings ignored Australia’s “proud First Nations culture.”
Prime Minister Morrison while announcing the change in the national anthem said it showed the “unity is reflected more fully” in the national anthem. "It recognises the distance we have travelled as a nation. It recognises that our national story is drawn from more than 300 national ancestries and language groups and we are the most successful multicultural nation on earth."
The Australia cricket team, meanwhile, added joy to the historic occasion with a superb batting exhibition on the opening day. Debutant Will Pucovski led the show with a fine half-century while Marnus Labuschagne also joined the party with a fifty of his own. Pucovski and Labuschagne added 100-run partnership for the second wicket after David Warner had been dismissed cheaply yo set the tone for others to follow.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 07, 2021 03:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).