Victoria’s closure has cricket sweating over quarantine hub

The Covid crisis has footy on the run and Australian cricket worried about quarantines and the Indian Test series.

Temporary fencing is put up outside the MCG as Victoria lives through lockdown. Picture: Getty Images

Cricket’s knuckles have turned a little whiter as the game monitors the enormous difficulties the AFL and other codes have endured as the second wave of the virus closes borders and limits options.

Cricket Victoria, whose St Kilda headquarters are right in the middle of the pandemic red zone, confirmed to The Australian that it is costing a move out of the state.

In a dire short-term financial position before the crisis, the association that laid off around 60 staff despite having large reserves which it refused to tap, Victoria is talking to Cricket Australia about who will pick up the tab if it is forced to move.

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Cricket has limited time to prepare, players are back at training, the women’s and men’s domestic season begins September 18 and 19, the Sheffield Shield is expected to begin on October 1 and the WBBLon October 17.

A six-month domestic schedule could see enormous demands put on players should the situation not improve.

The Shield and BBL will be problematic but the other competitions are more flexible or have fewer moving parts. The men’s domestic 50-over competition has been held in hubs in previous years.

The WBBL has also been designed with flexibility in mind, the first 16 games played across two weekends in four cities and then 30 all in Sydney.

The Victorians are on the frontline and considered the most vulnerable in a scenario that can change quickly.

“Cricket Victoria is working through the potential costs of establishing a hub,” a spokesperson told The Australian.

“There are many variables to consider including the length of time away. Cricket Victoria budgets for interstate travel but this would incur additional costs. We are in close contact with CA and the states and looking at all options.”

Cricket is understood to be working with the government on a biosecurity plan for the summer which will be ready at the start of August.

In a worst-case scenario all teams from the BBL to the Test sides would be in full quarantine and move from one isolation zone to another via charter flights.

Border closure saw the Victorian AFL teams scramble to Sydney and Queensland in the past fortnight before settling in the latter destination.

Former Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts’ warnings of a catastrophic summer were widely dismissed in recent months but the recent resurgence in infections suggests the future for cricket might be more difficult than imagined.

While India has signalled its intention to tour for four Tests this summer, its board president Sourav Ganguly has already started to complain about quarantine expectations.

“We don‘t want the players to go all that far and sit in hotel rooms for two weeks. It is very, very depressing and disappointing. We are looking at that, the quarantine thing,“ he said recently.

“And, as I said Australia and New Zealand have been in good position except Melbourne. So from that point of view we will be going there and hopefully the quarantine days will be less and we can get back to cricket.”

Ganguly himself entered self isolation four days ago after his brother Snehasish, secretary of the Bengal association, tested positive to the virus.

India began to lift a strict lockdown on June 1 with disastrous results. New cases rose from 8000 to 32,000 daily with the total passing the million mark despite low testing rates. While 25,000 have died, the mortality rate is relatively low in terms of per head of population.

Australian players will face their own quarantine challenges if they tour England, as seems likely, in September and if the IPL players compete in that tournament.

Players could find themselves facing quarantine overseas and on return which will push back the start of the summer.

India looks certain to announce an IPL as soon as this year’s T20 World Cup, scheduled for Australia in October-November, is cancelled.

There is no expectation the tournament can go ahead but the ICC has been slow to accept the reality. The next issue will then be whether India proceeds with its scheduled T20 next year and Australia postpones the 2020 tournament to 2022.