After playing a player with Covid-19, the Australian women’s cricket team is now at the centre of a controversy at the Commonwealth Games.
Despite testing positive, Tahlia McGrath was allowed to play yesterday in Edgbaston in Birmingham.
As the Southern Stars won the competition, she bowled, batted, and also took the catch that resulted to the dismissal of India’s great opener Shafali Verma.
Later, Ms. McGrath donned a mask throughout the medal ceremony and as she and her colleagues celebrated their gold medal on the podium with her arms around Beth Mooney and Alana King.
With Birmingham permitting each positive athlete to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, Tahlia is believed to be the first player known to have Covid to participate in an international cricket match.
However, some contend that she shouldn’t have been let to participate.
Many Indian fans believed that the verdict was “racist” and that India would not have advanced to the final if the situation had been reversed.
Australians were accused of being hypocritical due to their strict stance on lockdowns and immunisation to stop the spread.
Despite not possessing Covid-19, their rigorous standards resulted in Novak Djokovic’s exclusion from the Australian Open tennis tournament and deportation.
Even the $2 billion invested by the former prime minister Scott Morrison on quarantine facilities that are now dispersed around Australia and are vacant and underutilised.
McGrath experienced light symptoms when he woke up yesterday morning, and he later gave a positive test result.
She was still chosen for the Australian XI after the tournament’s organisers accepted her participation after discussions before to the delayed toss.
In instead of standing with her teammates for the playing of the national anthems prior to the game and joining them in the dugout while they were batting, McGrath sat in the audience while donning a mask.
She batted at No. 4 without wearing a mask until she was out after just two runs off of four balls.
After bowling two overs for 24 runs and taking a catch, McGrath put out her palms to tell her teammates not to join her in celebrating.
Australia scored 161-8 from their allotted 20 overs before dismissing India for 152 to win the first-ever women’s cricket gold. Again donning a mask, McGrath stepped on the stage with her teammates.
After taking a catch, she was likewise unable to join her colleagues in their celebration.
The action was denounced as “shameless” by sports writer Naveen Sharma in a Tweet, who added that “Australians often lecture about right or wrong but they forget everything when it comes to them.”
“Tahlia McGrath’s Covid test was positive.” Still, she was permitted to play. Basically, when Australia and England play, all the rules are broken. Imperialist attitude at its finest,” said one irate supporter.
How prejudiced they are. Another person said, “Imagine the same thing occurring to any Asian athlete, who they would never have permitted.”
Another person said, “If the same thing happened to the Asian team, the match would have been abandoned, and the enemy would win the gold.”
“How is this even possible…?” Another person said, “The umpires already robbed the women’s hockey semifinal between India and Australia with terrible umpirism, too much favouritism for Australia.
Many cricket supporters used Australia’s decision to exclude tennis champion Novak Djokovic from competing in the Australian Open and criticised us for being hypocritical for allowing McGrath to compete.
So, while allowing a Covid +ve [sic] individual to participate in a cricket match, Australia can refuse Djokovic entry to the Australian Open due to his lack of vaccinations?
What good is it to assess if someone who tests positive for Covid can still play? Mantavya enquired in a discussion thread online.
The decision stunned and horrified more than just Indian fans; it also raised concerns among many Australian supporters.
The team they played against should contact a health organisation since endangering the health of others is illegal and very hazardous.
If it were the other way around, particularly if we lost, Australia would be up in arms, one Australian supporter said on social media.
“Complete nonsense! If she has it, she shouldn’t be anywhere near others, and India should decline to participate since a win hurts everyone else.
Why is it now suddenly fine? posted one more.
“This is odd.” If you test positive, you are no longer eligible. What if India declines to participate for health reasons? one more said.
McGrath would have been had to sit out and isolate for seven days if the game had taken place in Australia, showing the absurd contradictions in COVID-19 standards.
Despite having little effect on the game, she was the subject of the most conversation at Edgbaston.
Despite an outstanding performance by Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Australia hung on to win by nine runs, giving them a Commonwealth gold medal to go along with their World T20 and ODI victories.
When Australia defeated India to begin the tournament, Ash Gardner was the hero with the bat.
This time, he shone with the ball, taking 3-16 from three overs, including the match-changing wicket of Kaur.
Alyssa Healy, who had won the toss and decided to bat, once again struggled and was out LBW for seven runs, but captain Meg Lanning and Beth Mooney put up a 74-run partnership off of only 47 deliveries.
Before Radha Yadav’s two strokes of genius brought India back into the match, Australia seemed to be in control.
Yadav first caught Lanning short of her ground for 36 after backing up too far, and then in the next over, she caught McGrath with a diving catch to get rid of the Australian No. 4.
Gardner hit a fast 25 but Mooney (61 off 41) was keeping the innings together when she was caught by Deepti Sharma’s superb catch.
To receive a one-handed stunner, Sharma extended his hand.
Australia was looking down 180 or more runs, but faded at the end, scoring only 11 runs off the last two overs to finish at 8-161.
In response, India scored 12 runs off the first over but quickly lost two wickets. Darcie Brown bowled Smriti Mandhana behind the legs, and then Shafali Verma squandered her extra life to score 11 runs, falling for the total of 12.
To counter this, Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian captain, produced a superb 65 off 43 balls before holing out in the deep as Gardner took two wickets in two balls. Kaur seemed to be capable of leading India to the gold medal on her own.
India needed 11 runs off the last over, but were stopped dead in their tracks by a straight shot from Grace Harris.
The final over barely lasted three balls until Jess Jonassen took the decisive wicket, setting off frenzied celebrations.