Premier Peter Malinauskas blasts Cricket Australia over Adelaide Oval Test from January 17 against the West Indies

Adelaide’s “disgraceful” Test scheduling has been attacked as “madness” and a “kick in the guts” for fans by Premier Peter Malinauskas in an incendiary attack on Cricket Australia.

An impassioned Premier Peter Malinauskas is attacking the “disgraceful” scheduling of Adelaide’s annual cricket Test – starting on a Wednesday in mid-January against the lowly West Indies – warning the sport’s hierarchy “cannot take the South Australian fee-paying public for granted any longer”.

In a blistering attack, Mr Malinauskas declared Cricket Australia “had reaped what they sowed by showing contempt” to SA cricket fans by switching the pre-Christmas Test to Perth, which has been criticised widely for drawing just 59,125 people across four days.

HAVE YOUR SAY IN THE COMMENTS BELOW

Adelaide will host the West Indies, for the second consecutive season, from January 17 – the first switch from a pre-Christmas Test since 2012 and a move from the day/night format for just the third time since the Oval’s $535m upgrade was completed in early 2014.

In an incendiary interview with The Advertiser, the Premier branded as “madness” the scheduling of this summer’s Adelaide Test, declaring it “a complete slap in the face from cricket authorities to the cricket-loving public of South Australia”.

Mitch Marsh bowls during day two of the first Test match between Australia and Pakistan at Optus Stadium on Friday, December 15, in Perth. Picture: Will Russell/Getty Images

“I hope there is a good turnout because we love our cricket. We love our sport but fair’s fair,” Mr Malinauskas said.

“And Cricket Australia really gave us a kick in the guts by giving us West Indies two years in a row, starting the Test on a Wednesday and prioritising Perth. Well, look how that turned out for them.

“ … The fact that we get West Indies two summers in a row is frankly disgraceful, particularly given the deliberate decision to schedule Australia versus Pakistan, in Perth straight up over and above Adelaide.

“Cricket Australia have reaped what they sowed by showing contempt to South Australian cricket attendees with the results of the crowd they got in Perth.

“But the second thing is starting the Adelaide Test on a Wednesday. It is a complete and utter disgrace. Now, I appreciate that international cricket scheduling is complex, but at some point or another, cricket officials have to be willing to put spectators and fee-paying members first.

“Starting a test on a Wednesday means people have to take time off work in order to be able to attend the cricket.

“Now, buying a ticket to the cricket isn’t cheap as it is but when you lay on top the cost of taking a day off work, it really stacks up. It really adds up.

“And, for the life of me, I don’t know what justification there is for starting the test on a Wednesday. Maybe a Thursday or Friday – but a Wednesday is a disgrace.”

The Adelaide day-night Test against the West Indies in December, 2022, drew 86,617 across three and a bit days.

A scheduling quirk – the start of an international cricket touring cycle – has meant the West Indies return this summer.

Adelaide has been granted bumper Tests against India and England in the following two summers.

Responding to Mr Malinauskas, a Cricket Australia spokesperson highlighted the Ashes and Indian series and anticipated working with stadium operators, governments, event managers and tourism agencies to ensure fans had the best-possible experiences.

“We are delighted there is so much interest from state and territory governments in staging international cricket in cities across Australia and we are looking forward to another great Adelaide Test,” the spokesperson said.

“We were pleased by the record total attendance for a Test against Pakistan in Perth and we are sure South Australians will come out in big numbers to see the ICC World Test Champion Australian team take on the West Indies.”

Spectators lap up the atmosphere during day three of the second Test match in the Ashes series between Australia and England at the Adelaide Oval on December 18, 2021. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Adelaide last summer unsuccessfully pitched to host the New Year’s men’s Test for up to seven years, in a bid to take the fixture from Sydney backed by millions of state government funding.

A bid document argued the Oval had the second-highest total and average Test crowds, behind only Melbourne, the second-lowest rainfall across six major capital cities when Test matches are played and an identical TV audience to Sydney of 1m in more than three of the past four Tests, despite “arguably inferior scheduling”.

Mr Malinauskas, a South Australian Cricket Association member since he “was knee-high to a grasshopper”, warned off the sport’s national governing body from sidelining Adelaide during negotiations with SACA over a long-term fixture plan for the next seven years.

“It would be an act of insanity for Cricket Australia to prioritise the Perth Test, where people frankly just do not show up, over and above the Adelaide Test, where year-in, year-out cricket lovers pay good money and turn up. Cricket Australia cannot take the South Australian fee-paying public for granted any longer.”

Mr Malinauskas, who has successfully pitched Adelaide as a major events destination for the crowd-pulling AFL Gather Round and LIV Golf, urged a permanent return to the pre-Christmas Test fixture.

“I think there is something to the idea of the Christmas Test,” he said.

“Having a Test match in relatively close proximity to Christmas, across a weekend, has some advantages to it, particularly for those people that are starting to go into annual leave mode and travel from interstate.

“But banging a Test so that it starts on a Wednesday is madness,” he said.

‘The Richies’ cheer on Australia’s Michael Neser during day two of the second Test match in the Ashes series between Australia and England at the Adelaide Oval on December 17, 2021. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Asked about the Adelaide Test being sidelined while AFL and golf crowds were flocking to Adelaide, Mr Malinauskas argued this was “a demonstration of Cricket Australia taking Adelaide and South Australian cricket fans for granted”.

“I think the assumption is – and we see this in AFL scheduling a little bit too across the minor round – the assumption is: ‘Oh well, in Adelaide they always turn up, so no matter when we put the games, we’ll still get the crowds’, and, commercially, there’s a logic to that. But in terms of a basic test of fairness for the fans, it fails,” Mr Malinauskas said.

SACA president Will Rayner said he expected future fixture negotiations to conclude within months.

He said SACA wanted a pre-Christmas Test, arguing Adelaide was “a premier event that deserves premier scheduling” in a mix of day and day/night formats.

“The numbers speak for themselves. Adelaide is the second-greatest-attended Test in Australia, second only to the Melbourne Test,” he said.

“It has contributed more attendees than Sydney, has had fewer rained-out days.

“Quite frankly, the WA Test is not even in the same conversation as the Adelaide Test and we look forward to working with Cricket Australia to get long-term scheduling that reflects those facts.”

Originally published as Premier Peter Malinauskas blasts Cricket Australia over Adelaide Oval Test from January 17 against the West Indies