The Australian international summer rolls into action today, with game one of the T20 series against South Africa taking place at Adelaide Oval.
Well that’s great I thought, packing away my favourite footy scarf, until a South African colleague barked, “You guys are next to no chance without Glenn Maxwell.”
Slow on the uptake after several late-night Pakistani horror movies, it finally dawned – how can the Aussies be in two places at once?
Tail between legs in Abu Dhabi on Monday then eyeing cow-corner in Adelaide on Wednesday, that’s the schedule, but of course not a back-to-back reality for the players.
I would accept a Cricket Australia explanation basing Maxwell’s absence on a mistakenly delivered Test batsman’s tour itinerary. But when David Warner, Mitch Marsh, James Faulkner, Mitch Johnson and Mitch Starc are in transit from another hemisphere, I’ll question Cricket Australia’s clumsy home schedule and demand to know if the Australian emblem has been tarnished.
Player rotation and back-to-back Test scheduling are always hot topics but the opportunity to play for your country in consecutive contests is clubbed for six when the team is double booked across different continents.
The over-used excuse of ‘commercial obligations’ doesn’t cut it either. With the three-match series due for completion on Sunday the first could have been played on Friday – it’s only T20, play two in one day or make it a two-game series.
Better still, scrap the entire series and increase the Indian Test series to five with the inclusion of a Perth Test in a modified schedule of meaningful cricket.
Too late for change now, but Cricket Australia learn this: the crowd don’t like paying full price for second XI cricket, and the players don’t like being robbed of opportunities to represent the green and gold.
Daniel Gray
Roar Guru
Good points here, Jason. Watching Rilee Rossouw cart our bowlers all over Adelaide Oval the other night made me think how we would have benefited from having Warner at the top of the order. Bit hard to expect crowds to keep showing up with a sub-par team taking the field.
Jason Hosken
Roar Guru
Was 40/40 exclusive to England, it's still played amongst the Counties? I don't recall it at the international level. Agree - I'm all for live sport, especially when the best are available.
Johnny Ball
Guest
I would like to see the return of the 40/40 game 20/20 is a bash only similar to mutating baseball. wild bowling and bash abound with no real entertainment value to a cricket follower. 40/40 commenced in the afternoon and by the time people got home from work you could see how batting side was going and then settle in for evening after dinner. Shame its gone; better for ratings too. What would you rather watch, a weary reality show or live sport with a build up quality?