Boxing Day Test news: Cricket Australia allows players to fly home to New South Wales despite Covid risk

Cricket Australia will take special measures to ensure its NSW-based Test stars are not put at risk of Covid when returning home for Christmas.

(LR) Steve Smith and David Warner at Qantas Departure Terminal on the 23rd of August. The Australian men’s cricket team is the first international team to leave as they depart for the UK. PICTURE: Adam Yip

Cricket Australia has organised a second charter flight in the space of a week to ensure its Sydney-based stars can safely fly home before the Boxing Day Test.

Administrators are determined to not let Cummins’ Covid drama in Adelaide impact on their determination to give players their freedom.

But CA is taking no risks and has decided to allow players to break camp and spend a couple of nights in their own beds – and with their families – before joining back up again on Thursday in Melbourne.

There were 2501 new local COVID-19 cases reported in NSW on Monday, and 1302 in Victoria, but taking a charter flight — similar to how Cummins got home — will mitigate the risks enormously.

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CA has tightened restrictions for the next two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney by banning players from shopping, having haircuts, eating indoors and posing for selfies with fans.

However, there is a resolve to not return to bubble life and to consider the mental benefits of allowing players to live a close to normal life where sensible to do so and CA chief Nick Hockley is so far upholding his promise to Australian and England stars about resisting locking them up.

David Warner and Steve Smith are free to fly home before the Boxing Day Test.

Even if that means risking more Cummins’ style withdrawals before the summer is finished.

Sydney-based stars David Warner, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon are all free to fly to their homes, although West Australians coach Justin Langer, Cameron Green and Jhye Richardson will be forced to head straight to Melbourne due to the border rules stopping them from getting back to Perth.

Cummins was ruled out of the second Test in Adelaide due to South Australia’s strict rules on close contacts, and would have likely been cleared to play if the match was in NSW or Victoria.

Although there was still confusion over how strictly the South Australian Government were actually enforcing 7-day isolation on close contacts, given members of the BBC commentary team were still hopeful of escaping Adelaide for Melbourne once they return negative tests.

There is still a feeling in some quarters that Cricket Australia didn’t do enough to negotiate with authorities for Cummins to play in Adelaide, but SA Health had declared all indoor diners at The Little Hunter restaurant were considered close contacts and CA didn’t want to risk the worst case scenario that the Ashes series could be jeopardised.

Captain Pat Cummins headed home to NSW but will play in Melbourne.

The Ashes teams have taken measures to ensure players only socialise and dine outdoors in small groups of three to avoid a disastrous scenario where multiple stars could be ruled out of a Test.

Meanwhile, Fox Cricket has recorded the highest rating Test match of all time in Adelaide for the Foxtel Group.

An average of 440,000 viewers across all Fox platforms including Kayo was up 11 per cent on the next highest-rated match which was last summer’s Boxing Day Test against India.

On Sunday’s day four action, an average audience of 481,000 tuned in to make it the highest performing Test day of all-time.

The second Test also recorded the fourth highest rating session performances ever for the pay TV network, with average audiences exceeding 500,000.

Originally published as Boxing Day Test news: Cricket Australia allows players to fly home to New South Wales despite Covid risk