Peter Malinauskas makes bid to bring Sydney’s New Year’s Test match to Adelaide Oval

The premier of NSW has mocked South Australia for trying to poach Sydney’s New Year’s Test – but Peter Malinauskas had the perfect response.

The NSW premier has lashed out at SA’s bid to poach Sydney’s cricket showpiece, saying “a five-day washed-out Test in Sydney is much better than a five-day Test in Adelaide”.

Dominic Perrottet took a swipe at SA Premier Peter Malinauskas’s audacious bid to poach Sydney’s New Year’s Test, with the pair clashing at a national cabinet press conference in Canberra.

All state and territory leaders were together to announce the outcome of Friday’s national cabinet meeting, where key reforms to health and energy were discussed.

In the post-meeting joint press conference, Mr Perrottet was quizzed about Mr Malinauskas’s plan to snatch the New Year’s Test.

“He’s kidding. A five-day washed out Test in Sydney is much better than a five-day Test in Adelaide,” Mr Perrottet said, prompting laughs from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other state and territory leaders.

“I mean, why, because at the end of it you’ve spent five days in Adelaide.”

The New Year test match earlier this year in Sydney was rained out. The city experienced 75.8mm of rain over the five day test including 55.8mm on the fourth day and temperatures in the low 20s. At the same time, Adelaide experienced 0mm of rain and ideal temperatures between the mid-20s and mid-30s.

Mr Albanese, who had previously praised national cabinet’s collaborative efforts, said: “There goes the collegiate atmosphere at this press conference!”

Mr Malinauskas responded to the Liberal NSW Premier by saying SA had a “pretty good track record of hosting major events”.

“Obviously we were rapt that the AFL chose to have the AFL Gather Round in South Australia over NSW,” Mr Malinauskas said.

“They looked at the evidence and the facts and they decided accordingly, and we hope that Cricket Australia might one day do the same.”

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has taken a cricket sledge at SA over the bid to snatch the New Year’s Test. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

Mr Malinauskas and the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) have approached Cricket Australia to discuss bringing the New Year’s Test – customarily played at the Sydney Cricket Ground – to Adelaide Oval.

SACA president Will Rayner confirmed news to The Advertiser, saying the proposal sent to Cricket Australia asked for Adelaide to host the Test for a “four-year period”.

“We want to do what’s best for cricket in Australia,” he said.

The decision is set to be made at the end of next week. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

This comes after Mr Malinauskas oversaw a winning bid for the AFL’s “Gather Round”, where all matches in an individual round will be played in Adelaide later this year.

It is understood Adelaide Oval has been scheduled to host a late January Test against West Indies for the second year in a row, despite hosting some of the country’s most competitive matches.

“We just don’t think that it’s reasonable to expect of a South Australian cricket public or SACA members who support our Test to make it such a great event,” Mr Rayner said.

The SACA president called the Test “non-premium” and the West Indies “a weaker opposition”.

Mr Rayner has asked Cricket Australia to provide premium scheduling for Adelaide Oval.

“It makes Cricket Australia as much money as any other Tests and probably more than most,” he said,

“We know that per capita it is by far the best Test. We think the evidence is really strong that this Test deserves premium scheduling in the upcoming summer.”

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas and NSW Labor leader Chris Minns go for a run at Bondi Beach on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Mr Rayner understood no decisions have been made on the scheduling at this stage.

“Premium” Tests include the match before Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

“We are working with CA to ensure that support is not taken for granted, and that the game of cricket continues to benefit from a world-class Adelaide Test,” he said.

The state’s leaders have argued that Adelaide Oval consistently draws crowds and raises revenue for red or pink ball matches, regardless of the time of the game or who Australia is against.

In early December, around 87,000 spectators filled the oval to witness Australia defeat the West Indies, while around 43,000 attended the Perth Test a week before.

Adelaide Oval provided larger attendances than Sydney by 54,000 over the past 10 years. Adelaide has also only lost two days to rain in 81 Tests while Sydney has lost 22 in 111 Tests.

Cricket Australia is set to make the decision at a board meeting at the end of next week.

The decision to bring the New Year’s Test to Adelaide will be one of the final decisions from Cricket Australia’s chair, Lachlan Henderson, before handing over the role to former NSW Premier Mike Baird.

“A five-day washed-out Test in Sydney is much better than a five-day Test in Adelaide.” A fight is brewing between SA and NSW over hosting the New Year’s Test match in sunny Adelaide rather than soggy Sydney with Peter Malinauskas and Dominic Perrottet going head-to-head. #7NEWSpic.twitter.com/dF3S0O4Ovk

— 7NEWS Adelaide (@7NewsAdelaide) February 3, 2023

Mr Malinauskas told ABC Radio Adelaide that SACA is “quite reasonably advocating to Cricket Australia that we’re not forgotten and not taken for granted”.

“There has been rumours floating around that Adelaide, yet again, will have a Test match hosting West Indies in the summer coming up after this one, which will be two years in a row,” he said.

“I think if those rumours have any substance, it’s pretty outrageous.”

Mr Malinauskas said he has “engaged” with SACA and is “happy to assist”.

“We’re happy to support any proposition that stacks up and derives a better outcome for the state’s economy,” he said.

“Obviously our major events policies (are) already yielding dividends in that regard. I think hotel occupancy throughout the month of April was already looking, set to be one of the best in the state’s history and that’s when we have (the AFL) Gather Round and so forth.”

Originally published as Peter Malinauskas makes bid to bring Sydney’s New Year’s Test match to Adelaide Oval