India and Cricket Australia at odds over the scheduling of day-night Test this summer
CRICKET Australia could be forced to announce an incomplete schedule for the summer ahead as their bitter dispute with the stubborn and iron-fisted BCCI heats up.
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CRICKET’S pink ball has become a hot potato Australia is struggling to handle.
It is looking increasingly likely that Cricket Australia will be forced to announce their 2018-19 summer schedule next week with the opening Test against India in Adelaide as a glaring TBA.
Originally there was a view to releasing the schedule on Friday, but internal logistical complications regarding venues and broadcasting meant it was held back.
Unless there is a miracle breakthrough with stubborn Indian officials in the coming days, CA will have to announce Adelaide’s dates but not their playing conditions as the iron-fisted BCCI showcase why they alone run world cricket.
James Sutherland would then need to enter into desperate negotiations with his Indian counterparts if he’s to lock the marquee fixture in as a day-night Test before tickets go on sale in the coming months.
There is a precedent for this, with a TBA initially released for the 2016-17 pink ball Test in Adelaide against South Africa, before the Proteas ultimately relented.
So far Pakistan is the only international side to not push back on Sutherland and CA’s vision that day-night Test cricket is the future of the sport and perhaps the only way to save the format — despite boom TV ratings and record crowds.
New Zealand had to essentially be paid off with a million-dollar prizemoney packet and the promise of years of one-day match-ups against Australia.
England also took months to be convinced to play pink ball Tests in Australia and the ECB has announced there will be no day-night matches for next year’s Ashes in the UK.
Many Australian players are known to object to playing pink ball Test cricket, but have been forced to tow the company line.
Sutherland has been pushing hard at ICC level for the new Test Championship schedule to include day-night Tests, and keeping the all-powerful BCCI onside is always a delicate balance.
The fact Australia needs India more than the other way around, makes this a difficult negotiation.
It’s understood India’s list of demands for the coming Test series in Australia are staggering.
Adelaide has been settled on as the first Test venue in part because India was against opening a tour in Perth or Brisbane where conditions are more extreme.
India are also adamant they want CA to give them two warm-up matches at Test-standard venues, and against first-class opposition, as their preparation for the first Test.
There is some support for day-night Test cricket within the BCCI but the make-or-break will be the attitude of their domineering playing group.
Indian captain Virat Kohli tends to get his way, and whispers suggest the playing group is hesitant to play a day-nighter.