NSW out to steal series
NSW cricket and sporting chiefs moved to steal international cricket from Brisbane as problems with the Queensland Government threw extensive planning for the Indian cricket series into doubt this week.
Sydney sports bosses put forward plans yesterday to host the six one- day and T20 matches that had been planned for Brisbane and the Gold Coast from November 26 to December 8.
The proposal will have the backing of broadcasters that are facing a blowout in costs after learning they would have to quarantine production staff from Melbourne and Sydney in Brisbane.
Time is running out to lock in plans, with India set to begin a long journey via Dubai next week. Indian and Australian players are due to arrive in Brisbane on November 11 from the IPL tournament in the UAE and had hoped to be able to modify strict quarantine requirements.
Those hopes were rocked when senior government sources said the arrangements that would see the players able to stay in a hotel and train at the Allan Border Field were not acceptable as presented.
Cricket Australia was examining its options and bracing for a redraft of the fixture for the summer ahead of a meeting with Queensland government and health officials last night.
Sydney is keen to steal the event after Queensland was preferred for the latter half of the AFL season and Saturday’s grand final.
The first Test – a day- night match – would proceed as planned at Adelaide Oval on December 17. The SCG can already host crowds of 23,000 and is hoping to expand that to 30,000 by the time of the third Test on January 7.
NSW is hosting the entire WBBL tournament, which begins this weekend, and has members of the eight teams in lockdown at Sydney Olympic Park. CA had indicated it was keen to examine a fall- back option as it tried to understand what had gone wrong in Queensland.
Plans to bring the Indian team and star Australian players into a modified quarantine in Queensland had hit a lastminute roadblock with objections from a state government facing re- election in two weeks. Back in India, officials, families, coach Ravi Shastri and a number of players not involved in the IPL are due to fly to the UAE early next week to join players there in lockdown ahead of a flight to Australia on November 11.
Cricket officials had been given indications that approval was days away for more than three weeks but were then called to another meeting last night.
Broadcasters would not be upset if the white- ball series between India and Australia planned for late November was shifted because costs have allegedly blown out because of quarantine restrictions.
Fox Cricket claims it would cost about $ 400,000 should it be forced to place all its production crew in a two- week lockdown.
But confusion surrounded even that element of the summer, with CA saying the broadcaster would be given an essential- services exemption.
Cricket Australia has had to hire a charter flight to bring the Indians to Queensland and book out a hotel to meet quarantine requirements.