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The
Convict Stain
Cricket
is the game of choice for Australia's establishment, the social group of Australians
whom are the most ashamed of their Convict heritage. Ironically, it is Australian
cricket fans who are ssubjected to the most Convict taunts - particularly from
the Sri Lankans and the English.
Surprisingly
though, one Englishmen explained the strength of Australian cricket as a product
of its Convict roots.
 The
English
"We also have
to consider the laws of the survival of the fittest and make a comparison with
the West Indies, another team who dominated world cricket as the Australians are
at this moment. Australia
was born as a prison cell, a dumping ground for criminals and political upstarts
left a harsh environment when the First Fleet sailed into Botany Bay in 1788.
It was a rubbish heap for tough, rebellious men and their warders; and women who
were prepared to defy the conventions and fight for their equality. What
better start could there be for a country that was eventually to hold sporting
prowess as its greatest achievement. There
is a similarity with the West Indies, manned for hundreds of years by slave men
and women who had been force-marched across the African continent before being
shipped across the Atlantic. The strongest lasted the distance and, when their
descendants were freed, grew into tall, handsome and fearsome competitors with
a little hate in their hearts for the men who had made them suffer such indignities.
So it was in Australia. " TED
CORBETT "They gaily revive
every prejudice they know, whether to do with accent, class consciousness or even
the convict complex, and sally forth into battle with a dedication which would
not disgrace the most committed of the world's political agitators." Former
England cricket captain Ted Dexter The
Ashes Although the likes of Ted Corbett
can see the strength in Australia's convict foundations, most English love teasing
Australians about their heritage. Perhaps this is because the Ashes, the
trophy awarded to the winner of Australian and England test series, was inspired
by the embarrassment the English felt when they were beaten by Australians; a
country with a Convict history that was regarded as inevitably leading to the
"physical and moral degeneration of its people." England
had never lost a series on home soil. So in August 1882, the home crowd naturally
expected victory for the English team facing an Australian XI. Sure enough, by
the second day England needed only 32 runs to win, with seven wickets in hand
and William Gilbert Grace, the world's greatest batsman, at the crease.
But against inspired bowling and brilliant fielding, the English players lost
their nerve and collapsed. The
following day, a mock obituary ran in the Sporting Times: "in
affectionate remembrance of English cricket, which died at the Oval on 29th August,
1882. The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia." Those
mythical ashes became a reality when the next England team to tour Australia,
led by the Hon Ivo Bligh, were presented an urn containing the burnt remains
of a bail after beating the home side 2-1. In
1884, the English further inflamed Convict sensitivities when they insisted that
the width of the Australian's bats must be measured to ensure they weren't cheating.
In front of the crowd, the bats were measured and all were found to be within
the rules. Bodyline In
the 1930's Australia's Convict heritage was used as a motivational factor by the
English team during the Bodyline series. During the series, the English cricket
captain, Douglas Jardine, instructed his bowlers to "Knock that
bloody Convicts head off". Jardine also referred to Australians as the
"the lower classes that got away". Barmy
army taunts England's
Barmy Army devote considerable resources to embarrassing Australians for
their Convict heritage. At the grounds, the often sing ditties such as: "We
came here with backpacks, you with ball and chain!".
"The Aussies love the English, you might find it quite strange. 'Cos we sent them
all down under, with only balls and chains. And when they see the English, they
always shout and scream. But when they had the chance to vote they voted for the
Queen." "You
all live in a convict colony," *to the tune
of Yellow Submarine. We are a convict
colony,
We carry balls and chains,
Our blokes are mainly beach bums who
Are really far too vein,
We like to go a-shooting,
Or shag a kangaroo,.
Our culture amounts to no more,
Than Rolf and his Didgeridoo.
You may
have seen our cricket team,
They are an ugly mob,
We've got the McGrath
the bank robber,
And Waugh with his loud gob,
Is that kid really Gilchrists'
son?
Or Slaters? It's hard to tell,
Shane Warne has launched his own wine
range,
With names he cannot spell.
We like to go Pommie bashing,
Well,
what else can we do?
For they have got some history,
And first hand culture
too,
We think that if we win the Tests,
We'll be a stronger place,
But still the cash of this nation,
Displays the Pom Queens face Graham
- Sydney Morning Herald 16th December 2002
Sri
Lankans
A
country that seems keen to raise the Convict heritage of Australians is Sri Lanka.
In the 1999 World Cup, Ajuna Rantaunga, the Sri Lankan Cricket Captain
said of Australians: "We
come from 2,500 years of culture and we all know where they come from". Ajuna's
fellow Sri Lankans have posted the following messages on cricket bulletin boards.
"The
recent behaviour of the crowds at the matches played in Australia is simply appalling.
Never in recent memory have we witnessed such crude and vulgar behaviour of the
Aussie louts, the beer swigging ancestors(X) of ex-convicts."
X(descendants) Even
Sri Lankan journalists have theorised that perhaps Australian behaviour bears
the fingerprints of Convicts: Australians,
descending from the convicts may have an inherited mean spirit just the same way
that Sri Lankans have a built in lackadaisical spirit. (Rajpal
Abeynayake) "There is a
certain ancestral lineage involved here. After all, history does say that the
British transported their excess convicts down under and let them off to do as
they please in a land where only the fittest could survive. In the run-up to the
World Cup final, the Australian cricketers have certainly proved that they are
fit and that they are adept at getting out of jail every time they are thrown
into one. " (Satish Viswanathan)
"The spectator behaviour was appalling,
and shocking, their main target was Murali, who had to face the music for no fault
of his, most of these louts were under the influence of alcohol. If
history is an indication, then I presume these men are direct descendants of the
ex-convicts that Britain dumped on Australian soil, to keep their country free
of criminals, if so their behaviour is understandable. To them the old adage that
cricket is a gentlemen's game is a myth."Rex
Wijewardene Sunday times
Indians
"Useless u cunts r lazy bastards...what did u do in ur whole life drink ....and become a whore...An average Indian earns twice as more as an Aus...u cunts r useless...thts y we r taking over...u people can work in the farm..good for ur health...go to sydney and melbourne and see...ruled by asians...get ready to fly to some other convict lands... we Asians will take over Oz in the next couple of years...and then will kick ur ass...u convicts can go to the Antartic and live there :-)" Aniruda
"Australia, a land of Aborigines that was butchered to convert as den of European convicts and that’s how their team generates so-called killer instinct in almost every sport at any cost & by hook or crook. During 90’s, Ponting had saved his skin from nearly getting pasted off by the crowd at Peerless Inn, Calcutta for patting at buttock of an well-known film actress. They must learn the true rules of Cricket before going onto the field because it is not meant for ex-convicts to play a game called Trick-head or Racket." Seapeeam
Australians
"The Ashes re-activate in the new millennium debates of the 19th century about the virtues and vices of the currency lads and lasses who established and developed the colonies. But now, as then, the spectre of convict origins hangs close. For all the claims of their Australian ancestors that the convicts were wronged, transportation history means that a certain disreputability clings to the nation’s origins.
The easily activated convict jibe, often linked to the Queen of England’s persistent status as head of the Australian state, provides many opportunities for England’s Barmy Army of travelling supporters to make their own sport with Australia. So, among the “Barmy Harmonies” on their website currently devoted to the Australian team, all refer to transportation, with such lines as, “We came here with backpacks, you with ball and chain”.
Well-known melodies and lyrical structures by English acts like Oasis and the Beatles provide the foundation for sung sentiments such as “Cos I don’t believe that anybody’s quite as thick as you AUSSIE CONVICTS” (Wonderwall) and “You all live in a convict colony, a convict colony, a convict colony” (Yellow Submarine).
David Rowe - Director of the Centre for Cultural Research (CCR) at The University of Western Sydney.
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