Tasmania’s only international cricket match to clash with AFL season opener

Cricket Australia has once again dudded Tasmania with the state’s only international fixture to fall on the opening round of next year’s AFL season.

Australia and New Zealand will face off in Hobart on March 20 in the only international cricket match in Tasmania during the 2019-20 season. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty

CRICKET Australia has once again dudded Tasmania with the state’s only international fixture to fall on the opening round of next year’s AFL season.

Blundstone Arena’s sole international cricket match – to be officially announced on Tuesday – will be a one-day game between Australia and New Zealand on Friday, March 20, clashing with the first Friday night fixture of the 2020 AFL season.

It will be the last game of the Australian international fixture and the third of three games against the Kiwis.

The latest fixture dud comes after it was revealed the Tasmanian Government had forked out $3 million for a T20 World Cup that will include no Australian men’s games here — and not one single women’s fixture.

TASMANIA LEFT OFF THE MAP IN T20 WORLD CUP

For the showcase event, Hobart’s Blundstone Arena will host eight men’s games over nine days from October 19 to 27 next year, including three involving Bangladesh, one with New Zealand and the rest to be made up by qualifiers from the smaller association nations such as Scotland, the Netherlands or Ireland.

Tasmania will also not host a Test match for at least the next four years.

Cricket Tasmania CEO Nick Cummins said he did not think the game’s clash with the opening round of the AFL seaosn would affect attendances. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

Cricket Tasmania chief executive Nick Cummins defended the single game allocation.

“I think it will be really good,” Mr Cummins said.

“It is the best weather in Tasmania in March and it will be a better experience for fans than in October when the weather can still be a little bit chilly. I reckon it is good.”

He said the reason for the autumn game was due to India scheduling a one-day series against Australia in India in January, pushing back the one-day series against the Kiwis, which also had to accommodate the New Zealanders’ own domestic and international schedule.

Mr Cummins did not believe the clash with the start of the AFL season would hurt ticket sales.

“I don’t think it will affect attendances,” he said.

“National TV [ratings] it may well do if it is going head to head with AFL but depends what game or games it is going up against. It shouldn’t affect attendances though.”