Players of both Australian and Indian cricket teams on Friday took part in a ‘Barefoot Circle’ to pay tribute to the indigenous tribe of Australia ahead of the first One Day International (ODI) in Sydney.
“Players from both teams paid tribute to Australia’s indigenous people in a Barefoot Circle ceremony before the start of play,” ICC tweeted along with the pictures of the ceremony.
While many teams across the globe have taken a knee before games in their fight against racism, the Australian cricket team will participate in barefoot circle ceremonies before all international matches this summer.
“The barefoot circle is a cricket centric way for players and teams to take a moment prior to matches to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land, connect to each other as opponents and pay respect to the country,” Cricket Australia says.
“This is done barefoot as a way to connect to country, but also a moment to reflect that we are all common ground, we are all human beings and we need to stand strong with each other, for each other,” it adds.
Meanwhile, the ODI series is a part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League, which which will set the fate of the teams for the qualification of ICC World Cup 2023.
Ten points are awarded for a win and Australia already has 20 points from their 2-1 series win over England.
Australia captain Aaron Finch on Friday won the toss and decided to bat against India in the first ODI of the three-match series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
“We will bat first. It’s great to have cricket back in Australia and to play in front of crowds will be nice,” said Finch.
“The wicket looks good. Hopefully, we can put runs on the board and defend. Steve Smith is back and he replaces Mitchell Marsh,” he added.