Sydney Test may be cancelled after NSW COVID-19 outbreak

Cricket Australia is bracing for the possibility the third Test will need to be moved out of Sydney. These are the back-up plans to maintain the schedule.

They Sydney Test is in doubt due to the NSW COVID-19 outbreak.

Cricket is bracing itself for the distinct possibility that the Sydney Test could be moved, but administrators are refusing to give up on the SCG’s New Year’s showpiece.

CA’s preferred options would be to still play in Sydney or to change the order of the third and fourth Test to allow for border crossings.

If numbers continue to grow in NSW, the options ahead of Cricket Australia include staging two Tests in Melbourne, two in Brisbane, or returning to Adelaide.

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But Cricket Australia interim chief Nick Hockley declared on Sunday that the governing body will not give up on Sydney.

Holding the Brisbane Test on January 7 and moving Sydney back to January 15 as the final Test is an option which would negate the prospect of Queensland shutting its borders to NSW – but CA still hasn’t given up on continuing with the schedule as planned.

“The third Test is more than two-and-a-half weeks away, which provides us with time to assess the evolving public health situation on the northern beaches of Sydney,” said Hockley.

“We have made no changes to our schedule and our preference remains to play the match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Cricket Australia is determined for the SCG Test to go ahead as planned. Picture: AAP/Dan Himbrechts

“ … It was less than a month ago that South Australians were contending with an outbreak o the virus in Adelaide and we have just completed a brilliant first Test at Adelaide Oval. We faced similar issues in relation to the Melbourne Cricket Ground playing host to the Boxing Day Test and we are now less than a week away from welcoming back Victorian crowds after a difficult year for the State.

“We will continue to work closely with all relevant parties to make the right decisions in the appropriate time frames.”

The powerful BCCI will have a say in things and it’s unlikely India would go for two Tests at the bouncy Gabba, leaving back-to-back Tests in Melbourne as the favoured option for broadcasters.

Cricket Australia officials hosted a big ‘Steer Co’ meeting on Sunday after the NSW Government announced the latest case numbers across the city.

Officials still have a couple of days to make a final call and will give Sydney every possible chance, but the situation is looking ominous.

The MCG ‘double’ is a real possibility. Picture: AAP/Scott Barbour

Broadcast sources believe the prospect of the MCG hosting the Boxing Day Test and then being turned around for a New Year’s Test on January 7 is a real possibility.

It would certainly help the broadcast partners Fox Cricket and Channel 7 because the networks would be set-up and wouldn’t need to shift to another location.

The Sydney Test was slated to welcome in a sold-out full-capacity crowd, but that would appear impossible now.

Sydney could still technically host its traditional Test, but the problem for Cricket officials is what to do next – because getting across the Queensland border for a Gabba Test on January 15 would appear to be getting more difficult by the day.

If Adelaide was shoe horned in to host the New Year’s Test on January 7, it would be a day-time Test.

Brisbane hosting back-to-back Tests on January 7 and January 15 would appear the most unlikely because of Indian opposition and the fact the lack of gap between matches wouldn’t give officials much chance to turn around the centre square.

Cricket Australia said its handling of the summer so far was a positive sign that Sydney Test is still a chance of happening in its rightful place.

“Cricket Australia has developed a solid track record of delivery throughout this most challenging of summers and will continue to make appropriate and proportionate decisions in consultation with our biosecurity team, Governments, State and Territory Associations, the Australian Cricketers Association, our partners and venues,” said Hockley.

“CA has prepared for the possibility of COVID-19 hotspots and State border closures over the course of the summer and the protocols that we have put in place have been effective in ensuring the safety and success of the men’s and women’s domestic and international programs to date.”