Christmas Day cricket likely

SYDNEY: The last barrier to a 365day professional sporting calendar in Australia looks set to come down with a report yesterday saying cricketers had agreed to play Twenty20 matches on Christmas Day.

The Christian feast day has been a sportfree day for half a century and cricket fans have had to wait until December 26 to get their fix when the Melbourne Cricket Ground hosts the annual Boxing Day test match.

The Australian newspaper, however, has published a leaked email from the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) telling player agents they had agreed to stage Big Bash League matches on December 25.

The agreement has provisos for players to opt out of matches for reasons of religious belief and Cricket Australia, which has long been keen to stage matches on Christmas Day, indicated it definitely would not happen this year.

‘‘At this stage, we have not finalised our Big Bash schedule beyond the upcoming season,’’ a CA spokesman said.

‘‘Any future scheduling will be worked through with appropriate parties, including the players and the ACA before being publicly announced.’’

The ACA was not immediately available for comment but has previously opposed the move. The idea is not unprecedented. Sheffield Shield matches were frequently played at Adelaide Oval on Christmas Day until the late 1960s. Australia played tests at the same ground, against the West Indies and India, which included Christmas Day action on Christmas Day 1951 and 1967, respectively. — Reuters