Australia v India: MCG could steal Adelaide Oval Test
It would be a dramatic irony befitting of the COVID year for one venue to go from looking like it might not hold any Tests this summer to being sounded out for a second.
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Melbourne has emerged as a shock contender to host two Tests including a day-night fixture, as concerns grow over the Adelaide cluster.
Administrators remain optimistic that Plan A of hosting the first Test in Adelaide is still the likely venue, but it’s understood the MCG and Manuka Oval in Canberra have been discussed as contingency plans as the South Australian Premier declared his state was only in the “beginning stages” of dealing with a “very nasty cluster.”
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One thing that seems clear is that broadcasters Channel 7 and Fox Sports want the opening Test to stay as a pink ball fixture under lights, even if Cricket Australia was forced into a worst-case scenario of dramatically moving it away from the Adelaide venue, which is the country’s most proven day-night base.
The major worry would be if a situation escalated in South Australia which meant the gates of Adelaide Oval had to be shut to spectators. This is because the atmosphere of a day-night Test is everything.
It would be a dramatic irony befitting of the COVID year for the MCG to go from looking like it might not be able to host Boxing Day, to suddenly being able to host the opening two Tests of the summer.
The appeal of the MCG hosting the first and second Test lies in the fact that Cricket Australia believe they could sell over 200,000 tickets across both matches so great would the appeal be.
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Current crowd restrictions have the MCG capacity at just 25,000 and the demand from members and punters for those precious Boxing Day tickets are expected to be through the roof.
BELOW: CRICKET AUSTRALIA’S FULL STATEMENT ON SA COVID CLUSTER
Having a first Test as well as Boxing Day, would help manage the spread of allocations.
Melbourne is untried as a day-night Test venue, as is Canberra and Sydney, but the TV ratings bonanza from going prime time is seen as a non-negotiable for broadcasters.
Playing the pink ball game as the first Test also makes far more sense than later in the series when the teams have already settled into using a red ball.
Any change to the current schedule would have to be agreed to by India, who are in the middle of their 14-day quarantine stint in Sydney.
It’s understood the Indian squad will play an intra-squad match against each other in Blacktown this week, although the team is only allowed out of their rooms for three hours.
The MCG’s credentials for dual Tests would be enhanced by the fact it has a drop-in wicket, although the docile nature of the square in recent years – with the exception of last summer – would be a cause for concern.
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On Tuesday the MCG conducted some crowd testing at the venue, where ground officials were able to simulate what it might be like to socially distance a crowd and manage food, toilet and exit facilities.
South Australia had five new community transmissions on Tuesday, but there is an anxious wait to see whether the numbers continue to grow as testing increases.
Queensland has already shut its border and if Victoria or NSW was to close off to South Australia it would spell curtains for the Test, because Cricket Australia needs to be able to progress to the eastern seaboard after the first Test to continue the series.
The fourth Test scheduled for the Gabba remains a concern for CA, given how reactive the Queensland Government has been to its border control.
Unless Queensland opens up to Victoria and NSW, the Brisbane Test would be in doubt, and Sydney could host the final two Tests – or Canberra could nab the series finale.
The Adelaide Strikers and all South Australian-based Big Bash players were on Tuesday relocated to Coffs Harbour on the NSW North Coast, while Australia’s ODI stars based in Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland were rushed to Sydney ahead of camp starting on Sunday.
This was because those States are putting self-isolation restrictions on people who have been in Adelaide recently, and last week CA wrapped up its last round of Sheffield Shield in the City of Churches.
FULL CRICKET AUSTRALIA STATEMENT
Cricket Australia confirms the following actions in light of state border closures following South Australia’s COVID-19 outbreak:
CA continues to monitor the situation in South Australia but remains committed to hosting the first Vodafone Test against India at the Adelaide Oval.
Players and staff from Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland who are part of the Australian men’s Dettol One-Day International and Dettol Twenty20 International squads are travelling to Sydney on Tuesday to commence their preparation for both series. This decision was made after players returning from the Marsh Sheffield Shield hub in South Australia after the last round were subject to changes in border conditions by the aforementioned state governments.
The Adelaide Strikers and South Australia-based players from other KFC BBL squads are travelling to a training base in Coffs Harbour today. This decision was taken after the Tasmanian government announced tighter border restrictions with South Australia. The KFC Big Bash League is due to start in Hobart on Thursday, December 10.
CA can confirm none of the players in Adelaide for the Marsh Sheffield Shield visited the “hot spots” identified by SA Health. CA has nonetheless instructed all players to undergo COVID-19 tests, with all results received thus far returning negative.
Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia’s Interim CEO, said today’s actions were taken to ensure the summer schedule would not be compromised by recently announced border restrictions.
“CA has taken a proactive approach and mobilised a number of people across the country over the past 24 hours to shore up our men’s domestic and international schedules.
“I would like to thank the players and staff for their understanding regarding the changes to their travel schedules and for their commitment to ensuring the summer of cricket is a huge success.
“I would also like to thank the various leadership groups across Australian cricket for coming together over the past 48 hours and taking quick, decisive action – made possible by thorough, cross-department contingency planning.
“CA will continue to monitor the situation in South Australia and the resulting border restrictions around the country.
“As ever, we will remain agile in addressing the challenges presented by the pandemic and remain more confident than ever of hosting a safe and successful summer across all formats.”
Originally published as Australia v India: MCG could steal Adelaide Oval Test
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