OFFICIAL: Cairns men’s cricket international postponed
Cricket Australia finally confirmed on Tuesday the series, which includes the Cazaly’s Stadium clash as well as games at Townsville and the Gold Coast, has officially been postponed.
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The Australian men’s cricket team’s games against the West Indies in Cairns is off.
Cricket Australia finally confirmed on Tuesday the series, which includes the Cazaly’s Stadium clash as well as games at Townsville and the Gold Coast, has officially been postponed.
The series, to be played in October, was originally set to serve as a warm-up for the Men’s T20 World Cup.
The International Cricket Council postponed the T20 World Cup due to the coronavirus.
There was still a remote chance for the series to go ahead but the nations preferred the series to coincide with the rescheduled World Cup.
The cancellation frees up the players for the Indian Premier League, which runs from mid-September to November.
Cairns may still yet welcome international cricket in 2020, with the women’s One Day International series with New Zealand still going ahead.
Originally planned as a double header with the men’s game, the women’s fixture will is currently unaffected, and will be held on October 7.
The game is the second of a best-of-three series against our Trans-Tasman rivals, with other games in Townsville (October 5) and the Gold Coast (October 10).
Bringing top-level cricket to Far North Queensland remains a high priority for the sport’s state and national governing bodies.
“Queensland Cricket has stated numerous times that our intent is to bring top class cricket to regional Queensland whenever we can, and that hasn’t changed,” Queensland Cricket CEO Terry Svenson said.
While acknowledging the uncertainty and challenges the sport was facing during the pandemic, Svenson said there could be potential for other top-level cricket, such as the Sheffield Shield, to be played in the region, in the case that the scheduled international fixtures could not.
“CA is working on the remaining domestic schedule at the moment but there is always the possibility of flow-on effects from changes in the international schedule or due to the situation with COVID-19,” he said.
matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au
Originally published as OFFICIAL: Cairns men’s cricket international postponed