A senior church leader warned that a cricket match on Christmas Day "would threaten the Australian tradition of family, food and backyard cricket," according to Sam Buckingham-Jones of THE AUSTRALIAN. Melbourne Anglican Bishop Philip Huggins, who has previously spoken out against Australian Football League games being played on Good Friday, said that a proposal by Cricket Australia to schedule Big Bash League matches on Christmas Day is a “silly” attempt to monetize a day "many people spend with family." He said, "The traditions are of worship on Christmas Day, lots of family and food, and looking forward to the Boxing Day Test. I think it’s a rather silly, sad idea. We see a sacred day and a beautiful family day, but these folk only see another marketing opportunity." Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland "triggered outrage" by saying it was “part and parcel” of the modern cricketer’s job to play on family holidays. Huggins said that such calls "showed Cricket Australia had lost its independence." He said, "The cricket association, like the AFL and the NRL, have compromised their freedom by making themselves dependent on third parties like the networks and the sponsors" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 12/29).
