Big Bash next threat to SCG Test

Health officials could wipe Australia’s Test superstars out of the Big Bash League if the third Test is played at the SCG as Melbourne firmed to host back-to-back matches.

The SCG’s famous pink Test may be moved to Melbourne this week

Health officials could wipe Australia’s Test superstars out of the Big Bash League if the third Test is played at the SCG as Melbourne firmed to host back-to-back matches.

The MCG could be locked in to secure Sydney’s iconic match as early as Tuesday, which would see the Border-Gavaskar series bypass NSW and the requirement to secure travel exemptions to enter Queensland for the fourth Test match at the Gabba.

There was a firm belief on Monday night that something would have to drastically change in the next 48 hours to salvage Sydney’s hopes of hosting a Test.

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Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley has been locked in talks with Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk over the past week desperately trying to save the SCG Test.

CA’s No 1 priority has been to safely secure passage for players, coaches and broadcasters in and out of Sydney after the recent COVID-19 outbreak.

But the availability of its Test stars for the final week of the BBL, after the series against India has finished, has also been a factor.

If captain Tim Paine (Hurricanes) and drawcards Mitchell Starc (Sixers), Marnus Labuschagne (Heat) and Travis Head (Strikers) fly into Brisbane after spending time in Sydney they could be required to serve a period of quarantine, jeopardizing their involvement in the BBL.

Cricket officials are confident that the fact players have remained in a bio-secure bubble would enable them to slip straight into the BBL regardless of the Test itinerary.

Queensland accepted AFL clubs from Victoria during the state’s second wave of COVID-19 this year and allowed them to play games while in quarantine.

Hockley has pulled out all stops to save the SCG Test but there was a sense on Monday that it would just be a bridge too far.

Queensland will review its border closure on January 8, but with new COVID-19 cases emerging everyday it is unlikely that Palaszczuk will open the gates to NSW.

Plans to bring TV broadcast staff into the biosecurity bubble has also proved far more complicated than first thought.

It was far easier for broadcasters to enter the bubble in England for Australia’s white-ball series earlier this year because the games were played in locked grounds without spectators.

But with fans certain to be allowed into the SCG, maintaining the integrity of the bubble becomes a challenge.

Victorian health minister Martin Foley said the prospect of the MCG hosting the third Test was “very real”, although the MCC remained in the dark.

The enthralling battle on the MCG’s grassy pitch has also allayed fears that playing in Melbourne would suck the life out of the series.

Curator Matthew Page is preparing the pitch directly next to the Boxing Day strip for a possible January 7 match.

MCG chief executive Stuart Fox last year described the Boxing Day Test as the equivalent of two Grand Finals in five days.

While crowds are currently capped at 30,000, the bonus Test shapes as a welcome gift for a ground which lost the AFL Grand Final and didn’t see a single footy spectator in 2020.