CA says MCG will host India-Australia Boxing Day Test if crowds are allowed

The iconic MCG will not lose out on hosting India for the Boxing Day Test if crowds are allowed inside the stadium, Cricket Australia (CA) interim chief executive Nick Hockley said on Saturday. It is being speculated that the Boxing Day Test match (December 26-30)  could be shifted to Adelaide in the wake of a rising number of coronavirus cases in the state of Victoria. As of now, the Day/Night Test match (second of the four-match series) is scheduled to be held at the Adelaide Oval from December 11-15. 

'We'll play at the MCG'

"It comes down to if we can get a crowd at the MCG we'll play at the MCG," Hockley was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

"All the restrictions that are ongoing, we are just hopeful that they take very quick effect and we get back on top of the situation and people can get out and about, we can get back to crowds and get back to live events."

Hockley said the CA is full steam ahead with the planning "in the anticipation that we'll be back to some level of normalcy by that point in time". It's one of the most iconic events on the Australian sporting calendar. Certainly, at this stage we are planning full steam ahead.

"We're in really constructive discussions with the BCCI (the Indian cricket board) and the government to make sure we get all the travel exemptions for India to come," he said.
"We are having to remain agile, certainly we're looking at contingency planning across the entire summer. Not necessarily specific to certain matches, but our entire events," said Hockley. As things change we're doing everything we can and we have all the back-up arrangements to make sure we get cricket played." 

India Tour of Australia 2020

India will be touring Australia for a four-match Test series that gets underway on December 3. The first Test will be played at the Gabba in Brisbane.  The second Test match at the Adelaide Oval will be a Day-Night affair while the last two matches will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney Cricket Ground respectively.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly had confirmed earlier this month that the bilateral series between these two sides will go on as planned as per the originally scheduled Future Tour Programmes (FTP).

Can India create history once again?

India had beaten Australia when they had toured Australia in the 2018-19 season 2-1 in the four-match series to win their maiden Test series on Australian soil.  It remains to be seen whether the Virat Kohli-led side will succeed in retaining the iconic Border-Gavaskar Trophy by getting the better of a full-strength Australian side that features the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, etc. 

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(With PTI Inputs)

(Image Courtesy: AP)