Queensland government’s dithering over Gabba redevelopment leaves cricket in limbo

The Queensland government’s dithering over the redevelopment of the Gabba has thrown Australian cricket’s push for a seven-year plan into turmoil.

The Queensland government’s dithering over the redevelopment of the Gabba has thrown Australian cricket’s push for a seven-year plan into turmoil.

Until last week, the Gabba had a reasonably clear future.

Soon after hosting its Test in the 2025-26 Ashes, the Gabba would be out of play for four or five years due to a $2.7 billion redevelopment for the 2032 Olympics.

However, Queensland Premier Steven Miles has hit the “pause’’ button and ordered a 60-day review to the entire Olympic spending structure.

Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley confirmed recently that CA was in discussions with all states in an effort to nail down the summer Test match schedule for the next seven years.

“Our aim is to give everyone clarity and certainty over the forward schedule so that we can all work together to make Test cricket as big as it can possibly be,’’ Hockley said.

But the schedule will remain as clear as a London fog while a cloud remains over the Gabba’s redevelopment, leaving cricket planners to face a multitude of complex questions.

Do they still rule the Gabba out of play for four or five years and consider sending more Tests to other states and alternate Queensland venues such as Cairns or the Gold Coast?

Do they wait until Queensland has made up its mind in the hope of giving the Gabba its traditional diet of Tests if the renovation is scrapped?

What does the future hold for cricket at the Gabba? Picture: AAP Image/Albert Perez

And what if the Gabba gets a partial renovation? Do they hold Tests at a ground that has bulldozers sitting quietly on the hill?

And how do they compare a partially renovated, capacity-reduced Gabba to a totally renovated Perth if both cities want the same Test?

None of these questions can be answered at the moment but many of them could come vividly into view when the Gabba review is finished.

Queensland cricket is in a delicate, vulnerable position with the potential cost cutting to the Gabba.

At a time when there is major lobbying and intense discussions going on behind the scenes before major decisions are made on the schedule, Queensland is powerless to make a concrete pitch about what it wants over the next seven years.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles. Picture: Glenn Campbell/NCA NewsWire

There was a time, because of the supreme quality of the Gabba pitch, that Brisbane was an automatic choice for the first Test of the summer.

But the Gabba, which is outdated and in need of a major spruce-up, has been left behind by its closest rivals Adelaide Oval, which has had a major renovation, and Perth, which has a spectacular new facility, Optus Stadium.

Given that the Sydney and Melbourne cricket grounds have immovable status at the top of the pecking order, that leaves the Gabba the number five cricket ground in Australia.

It’s not a good place to be, which is why Queensland cricket officials are nervously awaiting news of how much will be spent on the old girl to help her keep pace in the war for cricket’s best matches.

Originally published as Queensland government’s dithering over Gabba redevelopment leaves cricket in limbo