Test cricket will take a short break for an ODI series against New Zealand and everyone’s losing their minds.
The Daily Telegraph’s Ben Horne called it “a nonsensical change in formats” in the middle of the Test summer.
A bit dramatic.
In this hyperbole, it seems everyone is forgetting the old format of the Adelaide Test being scheduled during Australia Day, which meant Test matches were spread out over the entire summer.
Take 1996-97 for example. The West Indies played Australia over five Tests starting on November 22 in Brisbane. The final Test was in Perth starting on February 1.
During the Test series, a triangular one-day competition was also played.
The first game of the ODI series between the West Indies, Pakistan and Australia took place just a few days after the second Test.
Three more matches in coloured clothes were played before the Boxing Day Test, and then the ODI series took a break for more Test cricket.
The ODI series then started up again in the new year and was completed on January 20, just in time for the fourth Test between Australia and the West Indies in Adelaide.
This was way more disjointed than the fixtures for this summer, and there was no Twenty20 to worry about.
‘But what about Sheffield Shield,’ I hear you ask. ‘Surely, this was still going to allow our Test hopefuls a chance to get much-needed match practice unlike 2016?’
Wrong. Tasmania played Victoria on December 6-9 in 1996 and there wasn’t another Shield game until December 19.
The scheduling for 2016-17 may not be perfect but it never will be in everyone’s eyes. Unlike 20 years ago, at least a Test series has been completed before the format changes.
The way the summer ends has also come under intense scrutiny.
Australia travels to New Zealand for more ODIs before returning for a couple of Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka. This is squeezed in just before a tour to India.
Australia’s first Test match in India starts the day after the final Twenty20 against Sri Lanka.
What this obviously means is that no Test players are likely to take part in the Twenty20s. I don’t see this as a bad thing. It will give our domestic Big Bash stars a chance to represent Australia and it might prove that our Twenty20 team doesn’t need any of our Test stars to be successful.
With Twenty20 domestic leagues taking up a lot of fixture space on the calendar it’s going to get tougher for administrators to get the balance right. Yes, Cricket Australia can improve, but they’ve done a pretty decent job considering how much cricket in three formats they’ve got to fit in.
Hayden
Guest
My Ideas for cricket schedules in Australia; * Matador Cup in it's Current Time Slot. * Sheffield Shield starts Monday Week 8 days after Matador Cup Final. * International ODI's start in the last weekend in October and finish on 2nd Weekend in November consisting of 5 ODI's v 1 opponent and 3 Annual Chappell Hadlee ODI's. * Sheffield Shield Round 2 starts following Tuesday. * Sheffield Shield Round 3 starts following Wednesday including " ALL " International Players. * 1st Test Starts at the 4th Thursday in November. * Sheffield Shield Round including "ALL" International Players. * 2nd and 3rd Test played in December. * BBL in it's Current Time Slot "NOT" Negotiable * 4th and 5th Test Boxing Day and New Years. * 6th Test starts approx 17th January. * BBL All Finals including "ALL" International Players. * Sheffield Shield Resumes approx 14 days after BBL Final. * Sheffield Shield Final Must be Retained. * Grade / Premier Grand Finals "ALL" Sheffield Shield Players.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Agree with all that.
Immy
Guest
Nice try at rewriting history. Back then, no BBL. No 20/20. So Cricket Australia haven't done a good job at all. They've made it very clear they prioritise BBL over everything else including the shield which for decades was the breeding ground for tested, match hardened players... People are tied of meaningless series and they're tired of test cricket suffering because of commercial short sightedness. It's not fun losing at home to South Africa in the games that count. That's what people are annoyed about and many people blame CA's priorities for contributing to that loss.
GD66
Guest
Bang-on Swampy. Back when I was an idealistic youth (some time ago now, sob) I had a wish that one summer CA would pull their heads in and run a five-test series against England but for the rest of the cricketing summer, have all players playing hard for their respective states to give a shot in the arm to Shield cricket and get the public back involved with cricket and its stars at national level. The more the years went by the more that forlorn hope was rapidly erased. Then some years later I had another, fractionally more realistic epiphany : at the end of the season, the top Shield runscorer and top wicket taker, in a sort of promotion/relegation sense, should be included in the Australian squad. The notion stood up for a while, then Rob Quiney, after a stellar domestic season, was parachuted into the side and just as quickly proved once and for all that Shield success is no criterion for national selection. Darn ! I have since given up inventing solutions, but like Swampy I'm pretty sure the answer is NOT just to jam the schedule with literally dozens of 50-over matches, just so ch 9 can show oft-repeated ads all day long.
Swampy
Guest
Think you are missing the point of view of many mate. No one is unhappy with the volume of cricket. In fact I'm sure most people who complain about the scheduling would be happy to see more cricket! The complaints are based around series being meaningful and not just for commercial gain (ie random T20's against sub-continent teams or a test series against India jammed in wherever it will fit annually). I want to see Dave Warner in top form in as many matches as possible. I'd also like to see Chad Sayers bowl to dave Warner to evaluate if he's of international potential. I want to go to my local ground and see a touring team play a 3 or 4 day warm up match before a test - see who else they've got in the squad. I would love to be able to support my state with a near full strength squad at their home ground in the domestic one dayer comp during the summer and not during footy season. The South Africa series was good but Australia took three tests to find their feet. How much more interest would there be in a five test series (I know they have their own summer home tests to fit in) at this point - Oz down 2-1 but the form team going to the 4th test. Not to forget that November thru December is often the busiest time for most at work and January February is the most relaxed as well as when the majority of Australians take holidays. We want cricket and loads of it from Xmas to mid-February. But instead the summer tests will be done and there will be a run of meaningless cricket from mid-Jan through Feb. That is the scheduling we dislike.