From the cancellation of England’s ODI series in South Africa, to another concussion for Will Pucovski, and Olympic dreams, let’s dive into some of the talking points from the week in cricket.
The premature end to England’s tour of South Africa adds to the mess CSA is in
This weekend had an air of inevitability about it when it came to England’s tour of South Africa, the ODI portion of which was cancelled on Monday.
Even though the two previously unconfirmed positive cases within the England touring party later came back negative, something which may lead some to criticise the decision to call off the tour, the team no longer had confidence in their supposedly bio-secure bubble.
It’s welcoming to see that players’ concerns have not only been acknowledged, but acted upon as well, with no regard for what the reaction to such a decision would be.
In life, some things are more important than sport, and players’ safety and wellbeing is one of those things.
However, the cancellation of the tour comes with the unfortunate downside of the costs that Cricket South Africa (CSA) has to now bear as a result of this decision.
With Sky Sports and SuperSport by all means entitled to a partial refund of their broadcasting fees, CSA will not receive the full R70 million (A$6.2 million) that they were estimated to earn from this series, and, as per the arrangements of the tour, they will continue to pay for England’s accommodation until their scheduled departure today.
A cricket board already in crisis, with an interim board in charge, now has to contend with the threat of tours by Sri Lanka and Australia also being called off, although ESPNCricinfo has reported that both countries are willing to move the tours back home, on the proviso that the revenue streams are directed CSA’s way.
Meantime, England’s list of beneficiaries they need to repay, which already included the West Indies and Pakistan, now includes South Africa.
England now find themselves obliged to squeeze a rescheduled ODI tour of South Africa into their already bustling tour schedule.
Will Pucovski’s concussion throws another spanner in the works for Australia
The Australian top order was already in a bit of disarray before Will Pucovski suffered his ninth concussion when he copped a bouncer on the helmet on the final day of Australia A’s first warm-up game against India at the Drummoyne Oval on Tuesday.
Now, with exactly a week to go until the first Test at the Adelaide Oval, it is well and truly in disarray.
What started off as a competition between an underperforming Joe Burns and Pucovski to see who would join David Warner out in the middle in Adelaide has now turned into a search for who can partner Joe Burns in Adelaide, as Warner has been ruled out of the first Test while he continues to recover from a groin injury and Pucovski sits out the day/night game between Australia A and India, which starts tomorrow at the SCG.
Will Pucovski of Australia A (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
There is no way that Pucovski’s next match can be the first Test against India, fresh off the back of a mild concussion suffered from a bouncer on a suburban cricket ground, where seagulls outnumbered humans in the crowd.
As much as a Test debut for the 22-year-old Victorian is within touching distance after an impressive Shield season so far, taking some time to rest will do him good.
It leaves Burns more or less guaranteed a place at the top of the order, on the basis of being the incumbent and despite having a batting average of just 8.71 in first-class cricket so far this summer.
Although he was not named in Australia’s squad for the Test series against India, Marcus Harris will still get a chance to throw his hat in the ring for a return to the Test team when he opens the batting alongside Burns in the Australia A game this weekend.
Marnus Labuschagne also looks to be a contender to become opener for the first Test, while Cameron Green may be in line for a Test debut, after his unbeaten century and two-wicket haul at Drummoyne Oval earlier this week.
The Australian XI for the first Test against India could look like this:
1: Joe Burns
2: Marcus Harris/Marnus Labuschagne
3: Steve Smith
4: Cameron Green/Marnus Labuschagne
5: Matthew Wade
6: Travis Head
7: Tim Paine (c, wk)
8: Pat Cummins
9: Mitchell Starc
10: Nathan Lyon
11: Josh Hazlewood
Get on the blower to the International Olympic Committee, ICC, if breakdancing can be in the Olympics, so can cricket
Early Tuesday morning Australian time, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that breakdancing would make its Olympic debut at the 2024 Games in Paris.
Upon reading the news, my mind was cast back to an article I wrote back in May, which posed the question of whether cricket should be included in the Olympics.
Let’s face it, if people can bring their boomboxes and breakdance to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, or whatever the urban youths that are being targeted by the IOC want, and potentially win an Olympic gold medal for their efforts, then the International Cricket Council (ICC) should seriously consider putting forward a proposal for cricket’s inclusion in the Games.
Sure, the Olympic programme may be reaching its full capacity and I may be fuelled by some bitterness, but, if breakdancing can become an Olympic sport when it isn’t really a sport, then there’s no reason why cricket can’t either.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Cricket should be like rugby union, rugby league etc, and featured in the Commonwealth Games: where it has relevance. The Olympic games would be silly. (the olympics are silly already)
Micko
Roar Rookie
Ridiculous they even made it! :angry: :thumbdown:
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
The Board and the SA Sports ministry needs to be sent a clear message...get your house in order or get out.. Yes cricketers, coaches etc.will suffer but unless change happens thats going to occur anyway.. ... As it is Momentum Life, anchor sponsor has walked away.. Supersport the financial lifeline of SA Cricket will want its money back from this tour ... They almost certainly at the end of their tether.. Especially when CSA in a shady transaction sold the broadcast rights for The Mzanzi Super league to the State owned SABC for nothing..Were this football FifA who have a zero tolerance policy to government interference in its member states Boards, would already have suspended South Africa..
Micko
Roar Rookie
And they wonder why the olympics are becoming unfeasible to host: billions of dollars worth of infrastructure for dozens of obscure "sports" that should have their own world champs without sponging off the "olympic" prestige they don't deserve!
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Definitely. "Dancing with Toilet Paper" and "Wearing Make-up Underwater" devalues the Marathon, the 100 meters Sprint, 1500 metre Freestyle, etc. ------- When l go to see Neil Young or Bob Dylan I don't expect a Hockey match to interrupt the proceedings. Likewise why should performing arts be included in the Olympics.
Paul
Roar Guru
where would that leave the players though, JN? I'm not thinking about the top liners, they'll probably find plenty of T20 tournaments to play their trade. I was thinking more of the contracted first class players, male and female, who could be left in a very bad place financially, if the ICC suspension goes ahead. You're far more knowledgeable about this issue than I, but I'd have thought suspension would have to be a last resort. Hopefully there are other options open both to the SA Board and/or to the ICC to explore before going down that path.
Omnitrader
Roar Rookie
Should get rid of rhythmic gymnastics and synchronised swimming then.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Real bad stuff going down in South African cricket right now.. Become massively politicized...from being the best run Sport administratively wise its become the worst.. And that believe me is saying something here .. One of the directors of The Board admitted she doesn't like the game and finds it boring.. On its own alarming enough, but the fact that she didn't even recognize the significance of what she publically said is scary.. No surprise that the same board were the organizers of the England tour.. The ICC have hinted at suspending South Africas membership..and they must.. I think for the long term good of our cricketers who are not just innocent bystanders but potential victims as the salary well dries up... And that's already happening.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
1980s, squash was pretty big here in South Africa.. I played it socially myself.. There was never a court too far away.. Today you will struggle to find them anywhere.. It was a huge sport in Pakistan, I believe it's practically disappeared now....fantastic to play.... But not spectator friendly and that's the problem...
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
The trivialisation of sport is an indication that society, esp Western Society, has past it's zenith. The Olympics have so much junk sport. If you cannot measure it in timed distance or points scored through physical accuracy, as opposed to to subjective judgement, it's not a sport. Clever as it maybe it's a performing art. Why not singing? Rock, Folk, Jazz, Country, Opera, Rap, Vaudeville, Grunge, etc all deserve Gold medals.
Paul
Roar Guru
1) I feel for the people trying to restore Sth African cricket to rightful place as one of the top nations in the sport. I've no idea exactly what happened or who was responsible for the virus issues they've had just recently, but clearly it's cost them dearly. Agreed it's great to see player health being taken seriously, but not so great the people trying to sort out a very big mess have been hit with this tour cancellation. 2) We knew before the summer started we were light on for openers and the injuries to a couple of players have simply brought that into the open. It would be great to have an XI made up of fully fit players in red hot form, but that's rarely the case, so I'm guessing the selectors will expect Paine and the team to make do with whom ever's selected. 3) I gather sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing are in as well. Won't be long before online gaming is an Olympic sport. :happy:
Nick
Roar Guru
I loathe the idea of breakdancing being in the Olympics, but from a logistics perspective, of course it is FAR more easier to select as an Olympic sport than cricket. For cricket to make it you'd need at least 3 appropriately sized grounds to be running a T20 comp, and each ground would need at least 4 pitches on constant rotation. Outside cricket countries, those resources simply do not exist and would be prohibitive to build, and would absolutely join the increasingly long list of abandoned Olympic relics. If Brisbane were to get the 2032 games, then I couldn't see a reason why cricket couldn't be added to the list as a demonstration sport and you could play games across the country like they do with the football programme. The real sad loser in all this - again - is squash. Sigh. That should be an olympic sport.