Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey
Australia’s Test schedule has been thrown into some chaos, as the Boxing Day Test – the showpiece event of the Australian summer – might be moved away from Melbourne.
Cricket Australia’s (CA) schedule was tentatively put in place two months ago, in case the country saw a spike in COVID-19 cases. This has unfortunately been the case in Melbourne. CA also recently confirmed its Big Bash League (BBL) plans, which are also thrown into some chaos as a number of games are planned to be played in Melbourne.
Earlier this week, Melbourne moved into full lockdown and was declared a state of disaster, as the state of Victoria continues to struggle in its attempt to control the spread of the virus. The state now (as of 7th August) has 7,449 active cases, with daily cases increasing by the hundreds. As a result, other states, including New South Wales and Queensland, have closed their borders to Victoria, which makes the current schedule just about impossible to fulfill.
Also read: Can India win in Australia again? Why it will be more difficult this time around
One senior cricket official told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that there is no way that the current schedule can go ahead as planned. CA chairman Earl Eddings has called for an emergency meeting next week, with the Boxing Day Test high on the agenda. CA will also need to look at their contingency plans, in terms of how such changes will affect the summer’s $300 million season.
Also, IPL 2020, now confirmed for UAE, also presents a challenge. The first Test of the Australian summer, against Afghanistan, was due to begin on November 21. However, the IPL Final is pencilled in for November 10, which means that if Australian or Afghanistan players are involved, they will not be able to quarantine for 14 days upon their arrival to Australia, which is currently a government requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, it looks highly unlikely that the Australia-Afghanistan Test will go ahead as planned.
For the Boxing Day Test, Adelaide has reportedly put its hand up to host the Test and is a good chance. It is unclear whether Perth, who is scheduled to host the Afghanistan Test, is in the running to host the Boxing Day blockbuster. As the situation worsens, CA will need to make some urgent decisions regarding the Test season, as well as the BBL, as the competition has two Melbourne teams (Stars and Renegades).
Also read:
- Australia’s tentatively confirmed Test schedule for 2020/21
- CA confirms BBL 10 schedule
- IPL 2020 to be played in UAE