sport news Cricket great Jason Gillespie wants Australia Day's date changed after Ash ... trends now
The furore surrounding Australia Day continues to ignite in the sporting world, with Aussie cricket legend Jason Gillespie calling for the date to be changed.
The 47-year-old former quick - who was Australia's first acknowledged Indigenous Test cricketer - believes the national holiday marking the First Fleet's landing in Sydney is not held on the right date.
A veteran of 71 Tests, Gillespie is now a highly regarded coach with the Adelaide Strikers and South Australia, and the Kamilaroi man is also an advocate for Indigenous people.
He has taken a side amid the fierce debate on whether Australia Day should be celebrated on January 26.
Jason Gillespie, pictured wearing the Adelaide Strikers Indigenous jersey, is calling for the date of Australia Day to be changed
The Scorchers and Strikers play for a trophy bearing Gillespie's name, and which celebrates his Indigenous heritage
'A day in which all Australians can celebrate would be my preference,' Gillespie told News Corp on Sunday.
'What a lot of people don't realise is that history shows Australia Day has not always been celebrated on January 26.
'The conversations need to continue to explore an alternative.'
His remarks come after Ash Gardner posted a withering takedown of the holiday as the world no. 1 ranked all-rounder prepares to play on Australia Day with the women's side against Pakistan.
Ash Gardner, a Muruwari woman, has become a fierce advocate for Indigenous Australians and enjoys doing traditional dot paintings
The 25-year-old, whose mother and ancestors come from north-western NSW, will play on January 26 in the second game of the series, but said it 'didn't sit well' with her.
'As a proud Muruwari woman and reflecting on what January 26 means to me and my people, it is a day of hurt and mourning,' she posted on social media on Sunday.
'For those who don't have a good understanding of what the day means, it was the beginning of genocide, massacres and dispossession.
'Unfortunately this year the Australian women's cricket team has been scheduled to play a game on the 26th of January, which certainly doesn't sit well with me as an individual, but also all the people I'm representing.
'When I take the field for this game, I will certainly be reflecting and thinking abou.t all my ancestors and peoples lives who changed from this day.'
Ash Gardner (right, pictured before captaining the Governor General's XI against Pakistan earlier this month) has been scathing of Cricket Australia's decision to schedule a game on Australia Day
It was a combative response to Cricket Australia scheduling an international match on Australia Day, though it's believed it was simply to ensure the final game of the three-match series could be held on a Sunday.
Gardner's take provoked a fierce response on social media.
Some lauded her 'courage' to stand up for her culture, while others slammed her for being 'divisive' and not acknowledging how life has changed Down Under since the First Fleet landed and transformed Australia into the thriving
