Canberra: Cricket Australia (CA) issued an apology Wednesday after a racist term was displayed on the scoreboard during Day 1 of Pakistan’s four-day warm-up Test versus Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval.
One ticker that caught people’s attention on opening day read “P*I” rather than PAK on the scorecard. The term “P*I” is used to disparage those who are South Asian in origin. Danny Saeed, an Australian journalist, quickly brought attention to the same, and the scoring was quickly modified.
CA quickly took the matter seriously and resolved the issue with a statement, “The graphic was an automatic feed from a data provider which had not been used previously for a Pakistan game. This was regrettable, and the error we corrected manually as soon as it came to light.”
Pakistan, captained by Shan Masood, chose to bat first in the warm-up match against Australia PM XI. Masood started his time as Test captain brightly with a superb 201 from 298 balls, although Jordan Buckingham was the best bowler for the PM’s XI with 5 for 81. Pakistan declared at 391 for 9, with the other contributors being Babar Azam (40), Sarfaraz Ahmed (41), and Abdullah Shafique (38). As of the time this story was published, the PM’s XI was well-positioned at 100-1 on Day Two.
Pakistan’s three-match series opener against Australia under Pat Cummins will take place at Perth Stadium, Perth, December 14, following the conclusion of the four-day warm-up Test.
