Cricket Australia is holding its nerves as the news of new clusters of Coronavirus cases are emerging from Sydney, where the third test between Australia and India is scheduled to be played from January 7 to 11. Earlier, the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) had got the permission to host a full house crowd, but with the development of a new cluster in the city, the Test match may well be cancelled or relocated altogether.
But, Cricket Australia (CA) is not giving up hopes on hosting the match at the SCG and although it had held rounds of crisis meetings, as per few reports, the board is reluctant as of now to move the match to other cities which are deemed a bit safer with respect to coronavirus crisis in the country. In case CA decides to relocate the Test, the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is reportedly next in line to host the New Year Test, after hosting the Boxing Day Test starting December 26.
On Sunday afternoon, CA announced its intentions and said that the plan to hold the match in Sydney has not been scrapped as of yet.
The third Vodafone Test is more than two-and-a-half weeks away, which provides us with time to assess the evolving public health situation on the northern beaches of Sydney. We have made no changes to our schedule and our preference remains to play the match at the Sydney Cricket Ground,” CA CEO Nick Hockley said.
Hockley further said that the board is in consultation with stakeholders along with other partners and officials at venues to finalise ways out in case of any issues with the scheduling due to COVID-19 cases. He also said that the board was aware of the challenges of hosting an international series and that it was preemptive with possible border closure and other effective measures to contain coronavirus and protect team members from contracting it.
“Cricket Australia has developed a solid track record of delivery throughout this most challenging of summers and will continue to make appropriate and proportionate decisions in consultation with our biosecurity team, governments, state & territory associations, the Australian Cricketers’ Association, our partners and venues. CA has prepared for the possibility of COVID-19 hotspots and state border closures over the course of the summer and the protocols that we have put in place have been effective in ensuring the safety and success of the men’s and women’s domestic and international programs to date,” Hockley added.
Hockley was enthusiastic about holding spectators at the MCG after a ‘difficult last year’ for the state due to COVID-19 outbreak, after the completion of a ‘brilliant’ Test match at the Adelaide Oval.
Although Cricket Australia is not giving up on hosting the third Test in Sydney, the level of concerns it has on the situation of Sydney can be estimated by the fact that the duo of David Warner and Sean Abbot who were in Sydney and were ruled out of the first Test were flown into Melbourne on a private jet by the board in order to preempt the border closure move by the New South Wales state officials.
Australia are leading the Border-Gavaskar series 1-0 after earning a dominating win over the Indians in Adelaide.
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