From Australian bowling legend Glenn McGrath allegedly calling Sri Lankan star allrounder Sanath Jayasuriya a “black monkey” in the 1990s, to Darren Lehmann being suspended for five matches in 2003 for using racist slurs after his dismissal against Sri Lanka; there has been a long association between racism and Australian Cricket.
One of the most significant racial controversies that shrouded Australian cricket was in 2005 when South Africa was touring.
During the first test match, some members of the local crowd shouted "Kaffir" to visiting players. The term is a racist slur to Black Africans.
The incident prompted an ICC investigation into the behaviour of local crowds.
Malcolm Conn is a Walkley Award winning Australian cricket journalist. He says racism has its roots in the formation of this country, and things would have been even worse for earlier generations of players and spectators who came to Australia from the subcontinent.
Australia was such a white country.Malcolm Conn
But cricket historian Patrick Skene says that although things are improving, the prevalence of racial vilification on our cricket pitches depends on who you talk to.
"One person says they get abused every two to three weeks. Others would say it is completely overblown and disproportionate and doesn't exist".
"It causes a great deal of discomfort to talk about, and it's a difficult one. If you don't talk about things, you can't improve them."
He says racist incidents are not exclusive to Australia.
Racism is all over the world, and that's where Australians get a bit upset when they feel they're being singled out. But we still have to call it what it is. It's rank cowardice to insult someone's ancestry to try and win a game. It's cheating, it's cowardice, and it should be called what it is.Patrick Skene
Things are slowly changing as Australian line-ups become more diverse and culturally aware.
Born in Pakistan, Usman Khawaja became the first Muslim player to play for Australia when he debuted in the the 2011 Sydney Ashes Test.
"People sledged me as I grew up, and I played. [There was] plenty of racial vilification and things against me. But it never hindered me because I never got any sympathy or excuses from my brothers or my family; I was very resilient."
Bhavin Nagar, a community cricketer playing in Australia, has some suggestions for migrants.
He says it is crucial to speak up if you receive poor treatment.
"Play with the spirit of the game, and don't take anything if you think [you have] not been fairly treated," he says.
If there's no fair treatment, speak up. Whether it means to tell your own club, your own team or the association, you do not need to take racial abuse.Bhavin Nagar
Hear more by clicking play above, or find in the SBS Radio app or your favourite podcast app such as or .
Hosts: Preeti Jabbal and Kulasegaram Sanchayan
Lead Producer: Deeju Sivadas
Producers: Sahil Makkar, Vatsal Patel, Abhas Parajuli
Sound Design: Max Gosford
Program Manager: Manpreet Kaur Singh
Advisor: Patrick Skene
Colours of Cricket is an eight-part podcast series, created by SBS Radio's South Asian language programs; SBS Bangla, SBS Gujarati, SBS Hindi, SBS Malayalam, SBS Nepali, SBS Punjabi, SBS Sinhala, SBS Tamil, and SBS Urdu.
