Cricket 2022: Australia’s next two major tours shoehorned into different slots due to rise of franchise cricket
Australians have always enjoyed a full summer of test cricket but that is set to be turned on it’s head by the IPL and an Indian cricket tour.
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Australia’s two biggest Test series against England and India will be shoehorned into bizarre time slots due to the new supremacy of white ball franchise cricket.
But despite this new world order, the Big Bash League is still struggling to get the consistent clear air it craves.
Next year, England’s obsession with making a go of its Hundred competition will result in the Ashes getting bumped out of August – the prime of the UK summer – and instead jam packed into June and July.
However, the real doozy for the Australian game is down the road in 2026-27 when the squeeze applied by the all-powerful Indian Premier League will sabotage the home summer in unprecedented fashion.
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In that summer, Australia will be forced to fly to India in the middle of January to play five Tests – all because the Indians need the series to be finished in time for an IPL starting in March.
When it comes around it will be a massive blow to broadcasters and administrators to have the BBL competing directly against a major overseas Test tour which will air in prime time – and feature Australia’s biggest stars.
Cricket Australia deserves credit for fighting hard to clear January of white ball international cricket – which will allow limited overs superstars like Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh to play every single game of BBL – something that has never happened before.
However, despite their best efforts, two of the four years of the Future Tours Program will still pit Test cricket against the Big Bash in mid-late January and limit the number of Australian stars available to play in the domestic competition.
India has no such problem with a dedicated window for its own IPL, and in fact it is the ever-expanding parameters of that competition which is starting to erode every other country’s international schedule.
The Australian home summer is also being put under immense pressure from an increase in ICC world events which are being staged in October and November.
Next year for example, the 50-over World Cup finishes so late that CA has no choice but to host the West Indies (for the second time in as many summers) in the second half of January when it would rather have all players available for the BBL.
The future tours program only adds to the challenges the Big Bash is already facing in trying to fight off competition from new privately funded pop-up franchise leagues in South Africa and the UAE with very little help from the ICC.
Cricket Australia administrators also deserve credit for acknowledging they have often been poor international citizens over the years and committing to helping build developing cricketing nations in the next cycle.
Australia will tour Pakistan and Bangladesh and even Ireland, Zimbabwe, Netherlands and Afghanistan in coming years in a major boost to those nations.
As reported over past weeks, all Indian Test series will now be five-Tests – another financial plus for broadcasters and administrators and next year’s World Test Championship final which Australia is on track to qualify for is set to take place from around June 6 at Lord’s on the eve of the Ashes.
“The increase to a reciprocal five Test Border-Gavaskar series is a significant milestone and will greatly enhance the enduring rivalry and respect that exists between the Australian and Indian men’s teams,” said CA scheduling boss, Peter Roach.
“The historic tour of Pakistan earlier this year was a significant moment in Australian cricket, and we are committed to returning in the future through reciprocal white-ball series included in the men’s FTP.
“Importantly, most of our home content will remain in our traditional window for both men and women, including a largely uninterrupted international window for the WBBL and greater flexibility for Australian players to participate in the BBL.”
Home Test summers will now be limited to five Tests – with the days of six-Test home summers all but gone – raising questions about the amount of Test cricket cities like Hobart and Canberra will see in the future, outside of when the Gabba gets redeveloped for the Brisbane Olympics.
Australia will also play some series in northern Australian towns like Darwin, Cairns, Townsville and Mackay – including Test matches against Bangladesh in March 2027 when the NRL and AFL seasons are starting.
Could captaincy be Perry’s way back into Aussie side?
Cricket Australia has vowed to learn from mistakes made with the men’s Big Bash League and not bastardise the women’s game.
Superstar Ellyse Perry, who has penned a new deal with the Sydney Sixers, has backed Cricket Australia’s promise to keep a strict fence around the WBBL schedule and not allow it to be interfered with by competing international cricket.
The International Cricket Council has unveiled its new three-year Future Tours Program, with one of the key features being the WBBL, The Women’s Hundred and the new Women’s IPL will be given their own exclusive windows.
It’s a level of protection the cannibalised men’s Big Bash could only dream of and CA is determined to help maintain opportunities for young female players to maximise their earnings across franchise and international cricket and not have to make cutthroat financial choices between club and country.
“There is a really strong sense that we want to give the game the best opportunity to grow and really protect some of its strongest products,” said Perry, who is back to captain the Sixers for an eighth season at age 31.
“I think that includes the WBBL, the Hundred and also the women’s IPL that’s due to start next year.
“At the moment where that sits it’s especially important. You want those franchise domestic competitions to be as strong as they possibly can with international talent.
“I know particularly amongst some of the bigger cricket playing nations, there’s an agreement there that we make sure we support each other’s competitions.”
Perry said she remains motivated to win back her place in Australia’s Twenty20 side after being snubbed from the XI for the Commonwealth Games campaign in Birmingham where the team took home gold.
The star all-rounder has found top form in the women’s Hundred batting at No. 4 and wants her Australian T20 shirt back – although has refused to comment on whether she’d be putting her hand up to captain the team if Meg Lanning does not return from her break from the game in time for Australia’s international series in December.
“Out of respect to Meg, that’s not even crossed my mind,” Perry said.
“I’m sure the management at CA … are looking at that. As far as I know, Meg’s leave is indefinite. We don’t have a series until December, it’s still very much a play-it-by-ear situation.
“I really love the challenge and the opportunity to continue to develop my game particularly from a batting point of view … certainly I’d love to still be involved in the Australian team, I think it’s still very much the pinnacle of our sport – playing international cricket.
“That Commonwealth Games final was a huge example of just how strong the sport is and I’d still love to be challenged by it if there’s an opportunity there.”
Other features of the women’s Future Tours Program is a determination to spread out series against Test playing nations so there’s one Test series in every home summer and make January and February prime time for women’s international cricket.
Australia will host a stand-alone home Ashes against England in January 2025, after a push to give the women their own clear air away from the men’s Ashes.
CRICKET OFF LONG RUN IN BID FOR OLYMPIC INCLUSION
Cricket will be part of the Brisbane Olympics if Australian officials have their way.
A “five-year strategic plan” was unveiled by Cricket Australia on Monday, with the push for cricket to be included in the Olympic Games outlined as one of the sport’s key goals.
On the back of the Australian women’s team’s gold medal triumph at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, CA is doubling down on trying to convince the International Olympic Committee of cricket’s merits for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
If that bid was unsuccessful, CA would continue the fight for inclusion for women’s and men’s Twenty20 cricket in Brisbane 2032.
Ironically, the Gabba will be transformed into the main athletics stadium for the Brisbane Games, so if cricket was to be successful it would have to migrate from its traditional Queensland home to other locations.
The International Cricket Council has been strongly pushing for Olympics inclusion for some time, and entry into LA 2028 is part of a broader push to infiltrate the American market.
There is talk of the IPL taking matches to the US, while the 2024 Twenty20 World Cup is slated to take place in the West Indies and the USA.
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Plans are in place to build specialised cricket stadiums in New York and Los Angeles, where there are massive expat communities of subcontinental cricket fans.
There is a belief that if cricket was to become an Olympic sport it would provide yet another massive shot in the arm for the women’s game in particular.
The top cricketing nations are expected to play more matches against countries like Ireland and the Netherlands over the next decade in a bid to spread the game in non-traditional markets.
Cricket Australia has targeted a boost in junior participation for the 5-12 age group, particularly amongst young girls, as one of its key strategic goals.
“Cricket is rapidly evolving and, with that, so too are the ways cricket is played, watched and consumed,” said CA boss, Nick Hockley.
“This strategy contains both a vision and a clear plan for how we can achieve bold, transformative change while also meeting our core responsibilities.”
All-conquering era has earned Lanning a break
– Robert Craddock
Not long before his sudden death, straight-shooting Test great Rod Marsh revealed a controversial pet theory about captaining Australia in cricket.
It was simply that any captain who lasts longer than four years or 30 Tests is overachieving because that is about the time when the job starts turning you inside out.
“There is a long history of captains totally losing the plot after about 30 Tests, which is usually about four years in the job,’’ Marsh wrote in his autobiography.
“I saw both Ian and Greg Chappell become exceptionally frustrated with the Board towards the end of their captaincy. I saw Michael Clarke almost change his personality.’’
Which brings us to Meg Lanning, who brilliantly led Australia for eight years before asking for a break from the game following Australia’s Commonwealth Games gold medal win in Birmingham.
To her immense credit, Lanning has never lost the plot.
By contrast, she was the steady hand that guided Australia to a stunning era of prosperity. Australia has dominated the world on her watch.
And, it’s true, Marsh was talking about the men’s not women’s captaincy and that the women don’t play anywhere near as many five day games as the men.
But the timeless golden thread of his words is that the relentless pressures of the Australian cricket captaincy should never be underestimated and deserves greater empathy and understanding from the wider world.
The surprise should not be that Lanning has asked for a break but that she was able to lead the team with such distinction for such a long period as the women’s game sprouted wings and changed shape along the way.
When Lanning started her job as a 21-year-old Test captain – Australia’s youngest female skipper – the women’s game was not as high profile as it is today. And nor was social media.
She and her teammates have become pioneers of a revolution in the sport but with the transition to full-time professionalism comes extra publicity, a more cluttered international schedule, higher expectations and more frequent and demanding training schedules.
Expectation wise, the Australian women’s cricket team have become women’s sports version of the All Blacks. They start favourites every time they play and are far bigger news when they lose than when they win.
For all of their greatness, it’s not an easy place to be.
When Australia II famously became the first overseas yacht to win the America’s Cup in 1983 the rival skipper Dennis Connor knew all about the pressure of high expectations. He called his autobiography “No Excuse To Lose.’’
The Australian women’s team often feel a similar vibe. At times it can propel them to greatness but it can also be a challenge to handle, especially for the captain.
“In sports like rugby league captains are not as noticed quite as much but in cricket the pressure and the focus is very intense,’’ said sports psychologist Phil Jauncey.
“It can grind you down. Look at Greg Chappell and the underarm incident. He was a great captain but the pressure had taken its toll on him when he made that decision.
“And I think Covid bubbles have increased that pressure. It has been difficult for athletes to get away from the game. It is not like the old days where Leigh Matthews was working in a bank when he was playing for Hawthorn.’’
It will be up to Lanning whether she returns to the sport but if she decides to retire she can feel proud of being one of Australia’s finest cricketers.
As Lanning headed off for a break Australian men’s captain Pat Cummins was asked at a Chappell Foundation Dinner in Sydney last week to nominate the likely length of his term and was making no promises.
“It’s a good question and I don’t know,’’ Cummins said.
“I’ve spoken to a few ex-captains about it, a lot of them have kind of mentioned around the 30-40 Tests. You start getting tired. You start feeling like you need a freshen up. Might be four or five years. But hopefully it’s not too soon. My goal is to try and make sure the next person is going to fit in seamlessly and that’s already started, trying to upskill a few guys. Someone might jump out, but it starts now. If I’m injured hopefully someone steps right in.’’
Cummins sounded as if he was up for the challenge … and what a challenge it is.
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Originally published as Cricket 2022: Australia’s next two major tours shoehorned into different slots due to rise of franchise cricket
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