Ian Healy has hit out at Cricket Australia and Cricket Tasmania over the postponement of Tassie’s Sheffield Shield clash against Queensland, as England seems to be wavering over the looming Ashes series.
The match was due to begin on Tuesday morning in Brisbane but was postponed when Tasmania decided to send their players home just before the start, concerned at the prospect of being prevented from going home.
The reason given by Cricket Australia and Cricket Tasmania for the abandonment was that Queensland had recorded four new COVID-19 cases.
Healy, speaking on SEN radio on Wednesday, described the situation as “a cricket debacle” and accusing the two cricket boards of “disrespect [for] the competition.
“It’s unbelievable!” said Healy. “The integrity of the Sheffield Shield has been disrespected by Cricket Australia staff. The leadership of Cricket Australia has been disrespected by the same staff. They weren’t even contacted. Can you believe that?
“There’s four things. One: the postponement. Two: no leadership in cricket contacted. So, therefore, they’re not respected and regarded. Three: the fly home from Tassie. And four: just as bad, the media blackout! You can’t have a debacle like this in a major sport in our country and not tell us why. They don’t know why! That’s why (they didn’t tell us).
“It was an absolute debacle.”
Tremors from the incident were felt in England, with players there already voicing concerns about the tour.
The England and Wales Cricket Board is preparing for more tough talks with its Australian counterparts over the conditions and quarantining.
England captain Joe Root was on Tuesday reticent to fully commit to the trip to Australia, even if he is adamant he is “desperate” to do so to win back the urn, amid concerns of what will be required of the players and families.
Root and England’s red-ball specialists such as James Anderson and Stuart Broad are expected to head Down Under in early November but those involved in the T20 World Cup might not join them until later in the month.
With a little over two months to go until the scheduled first Test at Brisbane, ECB chair Ian Watmore admitted there are more hurdles to be cleared after last week receiving the latest update from Cricket Australia.
“There is no simple date it must be decided by, apart from when that plane goes to Australia,” Watmore told the Daily Mail.
“Joe and the players not involved in the World Cup will be leaving in the first week of November so we have until then to change things. We are trying to build up a picture, either confident or less confident, of the conditions.
“There are issues to sort out with Cricket Australia, there are issues for CA to sort out with their government and for the federal government to sort out with state governments. It is a complicated picture.
“CA know what we need to make the tour successful and they’re working to deliver it. We need to see the detail, check it out with the players and management and either push back or commit.
“It’s not a red-line type of discussion, but we’re working hard to provide an environment in which our players and their families want to go and perform to their best.
“If Australia can deliver that, great, if not we may have to have more challenging discussions.”
Australia has adopted an uncompromising stance on COVID-19, with snap border closures among states as well as lockdowns.
Root said earlier this week: “I feel it’s so hard to make a definite decision until you know (what the conditions are). It’s a little bit frustrating but it’s where we are at.
“From a player’s point of view we just want to know what the position is and then we can make decisions. Of course it’s been a discussion point throughout the whole summer, it’s a big deal for all of us.
“That’s why it’s so important that we get all the information. I’m desperate to be part of an Ashes series, I always am, it’s that one series as an England player that you want to be involved in and that will never change.”
(With AAP)
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
It seems franchise cricket has forgotten about the great battle between bat and ball. In fact, this season in the IPL there is no battle at all.
The mammoth rise of Jake Fraser-McGurk - his enormous potential and the destructive shot-making that he possesses makes him a very tempting option.
Marcus Stoinis produced his first IPL century and it was a beauty. He went 6, 4, 4, 4 to finish off the Lucknow Super…
Test great Steve Smith is to play for Washington Freedom in the second season of Major League Cricket as the Australian influence in the…
Nathan Lyon has revealed his disappointment that Australia's cricket chiefs have prevented him from playing his first full season of county cricket in England…
Some of you may have watched the recent Fox Sports Series 'A Brief History of Australian Cricket: the Eighties'. If not, I’d definitely recommend…
