T20 carnival to kick-off cricket in Australia after over 2-month-long hiatus post COVID

Competitive cricket is all set to resume in Australia with a T20 tournament in the presence of fans after a two-month-long coronavirus-forced break. The CDU Top End T20, a round-robin T20 carnival featuring 15 games across the Queen's Birthday long weekend on June 6-8, will also see up to 500 spectators allowed at the grounds since Northern Territory has not registered any active COVID-19 case since May 21. The tournament, featuring seven Darwin Premier Grade clubs and an Invitational XI comprising best players from the Northern Territory's 'Asia Cup' competition, will be a testing ground for cricket in a COVID-19 environment.

The matches, which are being conducted in collaboration between NT Cricket and Charles Darwin University, will be held at Marrara Cricket Ground, Gardens Oval and Cazaly's Oval. After the T20 carnival, a 14-round Darwin & District one-day season will follow which will culminate with a final on September 19.

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Cricket returns in Australia

"We have a unique opportunity to showcase Darwin's wonderful dry season to a global audience, as well as celebrate the return of cricket after a period of unprecedented disruption to the game," Northern Territory Cricket chief executive Joel Morrison was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

"It's been a pretty tough couple of months for everyone around the world and we are hoping to bring some joy to the cricket community.

"We are open-minded and are quite happy to be a test case for world cricket."

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Cricket Australia Releases 2020-21 Schedule

Cricket Australia has announced the full international summer schedule, confirming India's tour down-under later this year. The announcement comes amid the Coronavirus outbreak which has gripped the entire globe. In light of the pandemic, CA CEO Kevin Roberts has also highlighted that the schedule is subject to change. 

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The schedule confirms India's tour of Australia for a three-match T20 series in October and the four-match test series in December-January. The second test of the series between December 11 and December 15 is set to be a Day/Night Test at the Adelaide Oval. The Test series will be followed by a three-match ODI series as well. 

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Image credits: Cricket Australia website

(With agency inputs)