Pat Cummins’ turn at hosting the Australian Cricket Awards has been panned by fans after the Test skipper struggled through a shambolic opening to the ceremony alongside his women’s counterpart Meg Lanning.
The award night, formerly known as the Allan Border Medal night until 2018, has been widely panned for its amateur production and corny speeches.
It all got off to a terrible star with Cummins and Lanning charged with the MC duties to commence proceedings.
During the opening Cummins started speaking about the impact of fast bowler Scott Boland in the Test arena and tried to make a joke after opening batsman Usman Khawaja had declared himself to be ‘the people’s champion’.
Cummins acknowledged the public push for a statue of Boland at the MCG.
‘I know all the MCG crowd wants to see that,’ he said.
‘Sorry, Uzzie, there is only one people’s champ, it’s Scotty Boland.’
His attempt at a joke was met with mild laughter, but it only got worse from there.
Cummins broke down in hysterics and was unable to continue speaking, which drew a better response from the crowd than his joke did.
As he chuckled, Lanning tried to take control of proceedings – with limited success.
‘Is it my turn?’ she asked.
‘It’s actually my turn to speak. Just, really, good luck to everyone tonight, I hope it’s a great evening and I hope you have fun.’
Cummins managed to regain his composure and added: ‘Far too much of us leading into it. Let’s get the night started. Thank you.’
Cummins and wife Becky Boston on arrival to the 2023 Australia Cricket Awards at the Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney
Lanning impressed on the blue carpet but was not able to translate to success as co-MC with Cummins. Lanning was named runner up for the Belinda Clark Award
‘Lucky no one’s watching,’ fired one viewer on Twitter.
‘With all the money you pay them, at least send them on a public speaking course,’ posted another.
‘Oh dear… the lack of professionalism and not quite funny… it’s like the nutter that laughs at his own jokes that are not even funny,’ another commenter wrote.
Even Cricket Australia had a dig at the pair, posting the video with the caption: ‘Did these two go to the rehearsal?’
Cummins and Lanning set the tone for the evening, which did not improve after their early stumbles.
Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year Usman Khawaja was impressive when it came his time to speak at the awards night
Scott Boland and wife Daphne on the blue carpet. Boland was a popular choice for Test player of the year by fans after exploding on the scene in The Ashes
Khawaja and wife Rachel also stole the limelight on the blue carpet with their impressive outfits
One fan actually thanked Cricket Australia for sharing the results online so they didn’t have to put up with the coverage.
‘Thanks. Beats having to watch the rather painful proceedings. Such a shame, the original AB medal nights were quite entertaining,’ they posted.
Others also lined up to last the amateur proceedings.
‘These Australian Cricket awards seem so rushed and haphazardly thrown together, it’s nearly unwatchable,’ one viewer posted.
‘Why would you want to watch?’ another asked.
‘Wish @Channel7 had invested in some better hosts, scriptwriters and directors. This #AustralianCricketAwards is next-level amateurish. The entire thing looks like a bloopers reel. Cringeworthy,’ added another.
However special praise was reserved for inaugural Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year award-winner Usman Khawaja.
Very emotional (and very funny) speech by Usman Khawaja as the inaugural Shane Warne Test player of the year winner at the Australian Cricket Awards,’ one fan posted.
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