Cricket Australia ‘would love to’ host India-Pakistan blockbuster … but not next summer
By Malcolm Conn
Cricket Australia is pushing ahead with efforts to host a blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan but says there is no room in this summer’s schedule for the subcontinental rivals to play each other in Australia.
India and Pakistan will both be in Australia this November, but CA cricket operations manager Peter Roach said there was no opportunity to schedule a tri-series that would set up a clash between the sides.
Pakistan and India fans pack out the MCG during the 2022 T20 World Cup.Credit: Chris Hopkins
Political tensions have prevented the two countries playing bilateral series, restricting contests between them to ICC events such as World Cups and the Champions Trophy.
Roach, speaking as the full international summer schedule was released on Tuesday, was also forced to defend giving away a historical advantage by handing Perth the first Test each summer instead of Brisbane, as revealed by this masthead last week. Perth will host the opening Test in next season’s five-match series against India.
The pivotal change comes with Australia’s women set to have a busy home season at some of Australia’s prime venues, culminating in an Ashes Test at the MCG.
Pakistan will play a white-ball series in Australia this November while India prepare for the first Test against Australia, beginning on November 22.
“We haven’t got a tri-series in the FTP (Future Tours Program),” Roach said. “Going forward, we’re always interested in opportunities for matches and content that will engage our fans.
“It’s fair to say that every country in the world would love to see India and Pakistan competing in their country. We’re on record as saying that we’re one of those countries that have asked the question.
“There’s no room in our schedule to do that at the moment, but we’ll keep talking to them and [consider] any other opportunities that arise. But in this specific example, there is not going to be any change to the schedule.”
Perth has been granted the first Test of the summer for the next seven years, as revealed by this masthead on Monday, despite Brisbane’s reputation as “fortress Gabba” when it starts the season. This will not be announced until after Easter.
Perth Stadium has been granted the first Test of the summer for the next seven years.Credit: Getty
Adelaide’s day-night Test will begin on December 6, followed by the third Test in Brisbane from December 14, the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and the New Year’s Test in Sydney from January 3.
Australia have not lost a Test at the Gabba when it has led off the summer since 1988, against the might of the West Indies at their peak. That’s 31 Brisbane Test matches.
However, of the four Gabba Tests since 1988 which have been played later in the season, Australia have lost two of them. That has come in the past four seasons, going down against India in 2021 and the West Indies in January.
“The clear advice from our national team is that there is a preference to start series strongly at venues where they’re really comfortable, and Perth and Brisbane they believe are somewhat comparable in terms of the advantage they get out of that,” Roach said. “They’re the hardest and bounciest pitches in Australia.
MCG fans, pictured mimicking Travis Head last summer, can watch a women’s Ashes Test next summer.Credit: Getty Images
“I also believe that playing a day-night in Adelaide is a significant advantage and the stats there are pretty conclusive too, that that’s a win, so they will look at this schedule and some will say Gabba first would have been better than Perth. Others will say Perth and then Gabba.
“I think that gap has really closed in recent times and the way our players think about that, and having analysed the day-night Test, they’ll be really buoyed about that. So we’re really comfortable that this gives us a great opportunity to compete with a really strong Indian team.”
That 2021 loss to India, which cost Australia the series, also cost them a place in the inaugural World Test Championship final, when outsiders New Zealand beat India. Australia won the second WTC final against India in England last year, but that recent loss to the West Indies could prove costly heading towards next year’s final.
Star all-rounder Ellyse Perry was delighted to see the women’s game featuring at an increasing number of leading venues, including T20 matches at the SCG and Adelaide Oval in January followed by the MCG Test, which will be played across four 100-over days.
“It’s certainly an amazing opportunity for the team to play at such an iconic Australian cricket venue,” Perry said. “And on such a big occasion like an Ashes series.
“We all saw that fixture and thought, ‘What an amazing opportunity and how much of a possibility that also carries in terms of what it could do for the game’.”
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