CAZALYS PENCILLED IN FOR CRICKET INTERNATIONALS
THE Australian men’s and women’s national cricket teams are scheduled to return to Cairns this October, but the prospect of local fans attending matches is uncertain.
As first revealed by the Cairns Post in January, Cazalys Stadium will host two firstclass international cricket matches as part of Cricket Australia’s full international fixture for the 2020-21 summer, which was unveiled on Thursday night.
The Cairns venue is scheduled to host a Twenty20 International between Australia and reigning T20 World Champions the West Indies on Tuesday, October 6. The fixture will be followed by a Women’s One Day International between Australia and traditional rivals New Zealand on Wednesday, October 7.
Both games are part of a three-game series between the sides that will begin at Townsville’s Riverway Stadium on October 4-5 and finish at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast on October 9-10.
While Cricket Australia is confident of hosting a safe and successful summer, circumstances beyond its control could mean the final schedule could look different to the one released on Thursday.
“We take seriously our responsibility to get the game to the people all around Australia and we’re really excited about the possibility of going north,” said Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts.
“The local communities up north will be excited to welcome the teams to battle each other on the field, regardless of whether there can be fans at the match.
“We really hope those series can occur as planned, but if they can’t, there’s the opportunity to postpone them to still ensure we can take cricket to those areas, even if we can’t do it as hoped this season.”
AFL Cairns’ managing director Gary Young, who operates Cazalys Stadium, said the scheduled games would be a massive coup, not just for cricket lovers, but the Far North community as a whole.
“Who knows what will happen by the time the games roll around with travel restrictions, but at the minute, this is great for the area of Cairns,” he said.
“The cricket is going to be exciting. We had huge crowds for the WBBL last year and this s will no doubt draw a great crowd again.”