Australia v India: MCG over rate penalty could cost Aussies spot in World Test Championship final

Australia had hoped to challenge for the World Test Championship final – that was before the devastating summer against India.

Steve Smith with his mask ahead of the new years Test. Picture: Getty Images

Australia’s slow over-rate on Boxing Day is set to cost it a place in the World Test Championship Grand Final if next month’s tour of South Africa falls off the schedule.

India’s shock victory at the Gabba has dropped the Aussies to third on the ladder because of the penalty imposed by ICC match referee David Boon at the MCG last month.

The Aussies are stranded on 332 points, which is 69.2 per cent of their maximum score.

They would’ve been 336 points if not for falling two overs behind time in Melbourne.

That score would see them equal with New Zealand on 70 per cent.

But the ICC confirmed to News Corp on Tuesday that a calculation of runs scored per wicket divided by runs conceded per wicket taken is used as the tiebreaker.

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Australian captain Tim Paine had a series to forget against India. Picture: David Gray/AFP

That metric would’ve seen Australia (1.392) remain ahead of the Black Caps (1.281) on the back of David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne’s brutal form last summer.

Suddenly, Australia needs at least two victories and a draw from the three-match series against South Africa to jump back above the Kiwis on the ladder.

India (71.1 per cent) rose to first after its remarkable victory in Brisbane and will host England in a four-Test series starting next month.

England (65.2 per cent) remains a chance to reach the final and the Aussies will be glued to that series.

The ICC is set to lock in details for the inaugural Test Grand Final this week.

Bowler Patrick Cummins was stunned to learn the Aussies had been docked four points, along with 40 per cent of their match fees, for falling behind at the MCG.

“We’ve got to take control of overs. We’ve got to make sure we bowl 90 in the allotted time,” Cummins said at the time.

“It seemed like every over there was a 12th man or a physio or someone running out drinks and slowing the game down.

“Maybe we need to manage that a bit better and keep the game moving along.

“We’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Coach Justin Langer asked captain Tim Paine what Australia’s next challenge should be after it retained the Ashes in 2019.

The senior players set their sights on reaching the World Test Final although the disastrous finish to the Border-Gavaskar series means they could be watching on from home.

INSIDE CA’S MISSION TO SAVE SA TOUR

– Ben Horne

Cricket Australia is investigating whether there’s a chance for players to be vaccinated before touring South Africa next month.

The Federal Government this week brought forward the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to mid-February – around the same time the Australian team are scheduled to fly abroad.

CA is planning as if they’ll have to tour without a vaccine, with no indication international sporting teams will get prioritised in the rollout.

However, News Corp understands officials are closely monitoring the situation and if an opportunity arose, Australia’s cricketers could be among the first in the country to get the jab.

CA is conscious of not wanting to be seen as trying to jump the queue, and when Australia’s initial rollout was being planned for late March, cricket chiefs were resigned to vaccinations being an impossibility for this South African tour.

A lot of questions remain about Australia’s South Africa tour. Picture: AFP Photo

However, the revised mid-February estimate has at least given cricketers some hope they could get an extra buffer of protection before heading into an environment in South Africa which England last month fled over bio-security concerns.

The Australian cricket team travel internationally more than any other national sporting outfit, and the Federal Government may see benefit in high profile stars being part of the initial rollout to help promote the vaccine and its benefits to the rest of the country.

Particularly when Australia’s touring party would number less than 40 people, and the Federal Government has already guaranteed high-risk members of the population will be the No. 1 priority.

Indonesia has included social media influencers as one of the groups to be included in their first group of citizens to be vaccinated in a bid to reduce public scepticism about the safety of the vaccine.

Of course there’s still no certainty Australia will head to South Africa in any case, with administrators and medical experts needing to be convinced of the bio-security conditions they’d be walking into before the month-long tour is signed off on.

The Australian Olympic Committee has taken the unprecedented step of partnering with a bio-security company ahead of the July Games in Tokyo, although the IOC is saying it wouldn’t be compulsory for athletes to be vaccinated to compete.

India agreed to be part of the Australian bubble. Picture: AFP Photo

All the reasons why Australia so desperately needed India here this summer are about to come back to them in reverse with the countdown on to their scheduled tour of South Africa.

India has been under fire all summer for their bubble blues, but the moment is fast arriving for Australia to decide whether they’re not prepared to give rather than take.

But CA won’t compromise on player safety.

Australia helped get the cricket economy rolling again back in August when they flew to England for a white ball tour, when case numbers in the UK were high.

The sacrifices India have made to tour Australia in a bubble have put $300 million in CA’s coffers, but there is no country more in need of a cash injection in international cricket than crisis-ridden South Africa.

Heading on a month-long three-Test tour, followed by the likelihood of two-weeks quarantine when they arrive back in Australia is the last thing Test stars want to hear at the moment.

Steve Smith masked up at the SCG. Picture: Getty Images

There is still no certainty Australian players will be allowed to leave Queensland after the Test, with CA still waiting for confirmation the team won’t have to serve out its full two-weeks of quarantine in their Brisbane hotel.

CA chiefs are currently analysing South Africa’s bio-security proposals, and if there is an agreement to go there’s a possibility the team could be accommodated in resort-style accommodation in Pretoria where teams would have their own private golf course and fishing lake, with the three matches to be split between nearby Centurion and Johannesburg.

Sri Lanka recently toured South Africa without incident, but England abandoned their tour midway through.

Originally published as Australia v India: MCG over rate penalty could cost Aussies spot in World Test Championship final