South Australia’s hot potato bid for Sydney’s New Year’s Test has landed in the lap of former New South Wales premier Mike Baird, after Cricket Australia’s board allowed time to hear a business case for moving the traditional SCG match.
SA’s Premier Peter Malinauskas has a $40 million major events war chest from which to draw, as the SACA seeks “premium scheduling” for Adelaide Oval, and CA looks for ways in which to improve financial dealings with governments.
New Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird.Credit:Brook Mitchell
While the chances of the SCG Test moving out of its early January slot are slim, SA will have the opportunity to argue for a more favourable spot in the men’s calendar for next summer than was initially likely to be the case.
Senior cricket sources confirmed to The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald that Tuesday’s regular board meeting, the last to be chaired by Lachlan Henderson before he hands over to Baird, kept options open.
The only part of the fixture determined was the allocation of women’s internationals for next season, leaving CA to deal with state associations and governments about plans over the next month.
SA’s bid for the New Year’s Test, made in part due to the expiry of a “best endeavours agreement” between the SACA and CA for premium scheduling, was launched after the state was informally advised it was likely to be handed the last Test of next summer, against the West Indies around the January 26 long weekend.
That’s because CA and Western Australia Cricket have been in talks about offering Perth a better Test match next summer, following slim crowds for a Wednesday start in late November against the West Indies last year.
The match was set to be the first Test against Pakistan in mid-December, before the series concludes with the traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s matches in Melbourne and Sydney – Brisbane and Adelaide were to host West Indies later in January.
First revealed by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, the SACA push for the New Year’s Test was driven by indignation at the idea that after years of providing one of the best attended and most profitable Test matches in the country, Adelaide’s reward was to be shunted to the back end of the international season in the name of “equity” for Perth.
Under SACA’s expired deal, Adelaide Oval was guaranteed one of four Tests against India in 2014-15, 2018-19 and 2020-21, while Perth and Brisbane were forced to alternate.
As one source with knowledge of negotiations said, true equity would involve the sharing of the Boxing Day and New Year’s slots among all of the mainland states on rotation – a virtual impossibility.
While the NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet was dismissive of SA’s request to take the New Year’s Test, the Cricket NSW chief executive Lee Germon made the point that Adelaide Oval deserved a fixed spot on the Test match calendar.
“Adelaide have a good Test in December and that’s where it should stay,” he said.
