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Why Cricketer's Association boss found handling of Khawaja's comments "refreshing"
Nicholas Quinlan • December 7th, 2025 2:10 am
The current boss of the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA), Paul Marsh, has said he is refreshed by the approach that Cricket Australia took in regard to the comments made by Usman Khawaja about the pitch for the First Ashes Test.
In the aftermath of Australia’s eight-wicket win against England at Perth Stadium, which took place within two days, the 38-year-old would call the pitch “a piece of s--t” following 19 wickets being lost on Day 1, while later going on to say that it does get better to bat on towards Day Two and Three.
After those comments, Cricket Australia (CA) would reportedly issue the 85-time Test representative a please explain over his quote, considering that the ICC graded the pitch as very good, which is the highest rating possible, despite finishing in the space of two days.
After that, CA would issue no punishment over the comments, with the governing body coming out and saying that his comments “were not reflective of how the team viewed the pitch”
Marsh, who was the former AFL Players’ Association CEO for more than a decade before leaving the role earlier in the year, was asked by Gerard Whateley before the start of Day 3 about his thoughts surrounding the situation, wondering what the AFL’s response would have been.
That prompted the ACA CEO to say that he was quite refreshed by the decision made and how Cricket Australia allows its players to truly express themselves.
“It was refreshing,” Marsh told SEN Cricket.
“I agree with you, the AFL would have done exactly that (in fining him).
“I think it is okay for players to have opinions, and we don’t have to agree with them.
“But one of the things I love about this sport is people are able to speak their minds, and Uzzie is one of those who is very comfortable speaking his mind.”
Marsh also noted that he had met with the team before the Gabba Test, but noted that nothing much happened following CA’s decision not to issue a punishment over the comments.
“I met with the team the other day,” he added.
“There wasn’t really anything to get involved in, given that Cricket Australia decided to not take any action. I think that was appropriate.”
Day 4 of the Second Test will begin on Sunday with the first ball being bowled at 3pm AEDT (2pm local time), with SEN having LIVE coverage of every ball throughout the series.
