Australia v India: Inside story of how Gabba Test was saved

The Gabba Test seemed headed to Sydney in recent weeks, only for high-level talks to ensure it stayed in Queensland. Here’s what unfolded.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 09: Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley and Cricket Australia Head of Integrity and Security Sean Carroll speak with Indian team management after day three of the 3rd Test match in the series between Australia and India at Sydney Cricket Ground on January 09, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Nick Hockley has made a late challenge to Peter V’landys title as the COVID King after standing up to the might of India to save the Brisbane Test.

Cricket Australia will launch its hunt for a full-time chief executive next month, but the interim could now be almost impossible to beat for the permanent post, following his effort to overcome four colossal dramas and fulfil the summer schedule in its entirety.

In the face of furious opposition from India, Hockley on Monday confirmed the Gabba had been locked in, as the Queensland Government confirmed a 50 per cent crowd will be in attendance just four days after the entire city of Brisbane was in total lockdown.

Watch Australia v India Test Series Live & Ad-Break Free During Play with the Fox Cricket commentary team. New to Kayo? Get your free trial now & start streaming instantly >

It’s easy to forget there was also massive pressure on Hockley to move the Boxing Day Test away from Melbourne at the height of Victoria’s COVID-19 crisis, and then further heat on him to shift Adelaide following a shock outbreak in the city three weeks before the first Test.

CA held firm on both fixtures, but the real roadblocks were still to come.

The Northern Beaches outbreak appeared certain to force administrators to shift Sydney’s Test to Melbourne, with Queensland’s watertight border restrictions seemingly an impenetrable obstacle to being able to finish the series as planned.

The Gabba crowd enjoy the first Test of the 2017-18 Ashes series in Brisbane.

Even against advice from within CA that the safe option was to play a second Test at the MCG, Hockley held his nerve, made crucial compromises with Queensland over quarantine arrangements and delivered powerful NSW powerbrokers their Test at the 11th hour.

Despite widespread criticism from health experts, Sydney’s case numbers have remained low and allowed for a safe and sensible 25 per cent crowd at the SCG.

Then the final hurricane blew in threatening to destroy the schedule, when powerful Indian figures launched a desperate campaign to boycott the fourth Test in Brisbane.

Hockley was always confident he had the backing of BCCI decision-makers, but Indian coach Ravi Shastri was adamant he would not take his team to Queensland and subject them to quarantine conditions.

The tussle took more than a week to resolve, with Brisbane’s fight to stamp out the spread of a mutant form of the virus with a three-day lockdown only heightening tensions and adding further complications to the negotiation.

At 1.30am on Monday morning, Hockley finally received confirmation from Mumbai that the Gabba was all systems go.

Hockley was the head of Australia’s World Cup committee before he was rushed in to take the wheel following Kevin Roberts’ sacking. He has said privately the past few months have been the equivalent of organising 10 World Cups.

Nathan Lyon applauds the support from ‘The Richies’ in Brisbane.

V’Landys saved Australian sport when he boldly relaunched the NRL season in the midst of the pandemic at a time when the AFL were still caught in the starting blocks.

While V’Landys has a far more forthright public persona than the mild-mannered Englishman who doesn’t like to stir the pot, Hockley has proven that behind the scenes he possesses the same nerves of steel as the NRL and NSW Racing boss.

Not many Cricket Australia administrators can say they’ve won battles with the BCCI.

Last summer, Australia were forced to leave home in the middle of their own summer to repay a debt to India by playing ODIs in the subcontinent.

Hockley is still yet to meet any of the BCCI bosses face-to-face since coming into the CA interim role, yet has managed to stand up to them and win.

All four Tests against India could have blown up on the tarmac this summer due to various COVID-related dramas, but Hockley has helped engineer an almost impossible result which should rubberstamp him as the new chief executive.

Originally published as Australia v India: Inside story of how Gabba Test was saved