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The world of cricket was taken aback during England’s The Hundred event when former Love Island contestant, Chris Hughes, was chosen to conduct sideline interviews in the opening game of the competition. Hughes’ unusual selection came under scrutiny when a cringe-worthy chat with Australian cricketer Maitlan Brown went viral and drew sharp criticism.
During the sideline interview, Brown was discussing her team, the Southern Brave‘s bonding activities, mentioning how they had watched the movie ‘Barbie’ together. She emphasized the significance of team bonding in tournaments like The Hundred, explaining that it plays a crucial role in the team’s success.
Also READ: The Hundred Women 2023: Complete squads of all eight teams
“We watched Barbie the other night altogether and it was really good team bonding and the group is gelling really well together. That is the key to success I think in tournaments like this, how well and how quickly you can gel as a group,” said Brown in a video shared by Somersetpodcast.
Reminiscent of the “Don’t Blush Baby” Incident
However, instead of focusing on the cricket-related aspects, Hughes attempted to make a light-hearted comment, calling Brown ‘a little Barbie herself’ due to her blue eyes. This comment took an awkward turn as it seemingly objectified her appearance.
“You’re a little Barbie yourself innit with your blue eyes”, said Hughes before adding, “She’s blushing now.”
Here is the video:
The absolute state of this @BBCSport
"Batsman"
"You're a bit of a Barbie yourself"
So much great young journalistic cricket talent in the UK, and you hire that clown @chrishughes_22, because demographics, innit pic.twitter.com/f7FwAtQjR9
— Always Look On The Bright Cider Life 🍎🏏🍎🏏🍎 (@somersetpodcast) August 1, 2023
The uncomfortable moment during the interview was reminiscent of a previous incident in cricket involving West Indies superstar Chris Gayle. During a season in the Big Bash League (BBL), Gayle had made inappropriate remarks to a female reporter, asking her not to blush. The incident had sparked widespread outrage and led to discussions about the importance of respecting women in the cricketing world.
Brown, a well-established all-rounder, boasts an impressive track record of success at the WBBL level and has been a part of the Australian squad both in 2020 and 2021. Speaking about the game, Brave got the better of Trent Rockets defeating them by 27 runs. Smriti Mandhana was the star of the day who exhibited a scintillating batting performance.
Also READ: Smriti Mandhana shines as Southern Brave beat Trent Rockets in the opening game
This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.
