Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has ridiculed a reported proposal by South Australia to bring the new year’s Test to the Adelaide Oval from Sydney, saying it is unthinkable. Just like the Boxing Day Test is synonymous with the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) has historically been hosting the first fixture of the new year. However, the inclement Sydney weather around this time of the year has caused a lot of frustration, with the latest disruption coming during the third Test against South Africa.
Substantial disruption was witnessed on the first and second day of the Test, while the entire third day was rained off as the match ended in a tame draw.
It is estimated that inclement weather affected Test cricket 64 per cent of the time in the last eight years in the Sydney.
A report in news.com.au said on Friday that South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has confirmed that Adelaide had approached Cricket Australia (CA) for the new year’s Test to be moved from SCG to Adelaide Oval.
“I think we had double the crowd at the Adelaide Test than we saw at the Perth Test. We often have bigger crowds than Sydney and that’s despite having a far smaller population,” Malinauskas was quoted as saying in the report.
“South Australians are passionate about their sport. They love their cricket, myself included, so we stand ready to work with Cricket Australia to improve their product to more people around the country.” However, Clarke, who hails from New South Wales, indicated it was wishful thinking.
“Not happening,” Clarke said on Big Sports Breakfast on Friday.
“Can’t take Boxing Day from the MCG and you can’t take new year’s away from the SCG, (an) absolute no-brainer. The day that stops is the day Test cricket is finished in this country.
“Their (Adelaide) Test match is perfect, when they’ve got it, under lights, it’s perfect, it’s working so well. Why would they want to change that?” Clarke asked.
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