Australia's Festive Season Tests under threat

[Poker Boy]

http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/australia/content/story/299279.html?CMP=NLC-DLY

Personally I've always thought it unfair that SA always played in Australia on Boxing Day but Australia never played in SA on that day. The Boxing Day/New year Test is important to SA too! So I reckon it should be alternated - one tour Australia should go to SA over the Festive season. then four years later SA should go to Australia over the festive season - that way both countries miss a year instead of SA suffering all the time. But what do people think?

 

[NZTailender]

http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/australia/content/story/299279.html?CMP=NLC-DLY

Personally I've always thought it unfair that SA always played in Australia on Boxing Day but Australia never played in SA on that day. The Boxing Day/New year Test is important to SA too! So I reckon it should be alternated - one tour Australia should go to SA over the Festive season. then four years later SA should go to Australia over the festive season - that way both countries miss a year instead of SA suffering all the time. But what do people think?

Nah. Anyone playing their tests around that time (Aus, NZ, RSA) should host nations who aren't.

Then NZ, Aus and RSA can play each other before/after the 'festive' games.

 

[pasag]

If we lose the Boxing Day Test, hands will be thrown. That is all.

 

[NZTailender]

If we lose the Boxing Day Test, hands will be thrown. That is all.

Hahahaha.




Skull IMO.

 

[Poker Boy]

Nah. Anyone playing their tests around that time (Aus, NZ, RSA) should host nations who aren't.

Then NZ, Aus and RSA can play each other before/after the 'festive' games.

Quite a good compromise (so that would mean, to use the most recent example, the WI and SA tours of 2005/06 being swapped around) What they would need to do then, of course, is not have NZ and SA touring in the same season, as they did for SA's first three tours post isolation.

 

[Craig]

If we lose the Boxing Day Test, hands will be thrown. That is all.

It's a two way street though. Why should South Africa be forced give up their Boxing Day/New Years Day Test? Who died and made Cricket Australia or any other cricketing board the supreme overlord of cricket?

 

[Perm]

It's a two way street though. Why should South Africa be forced give up their Boxing Day/New Years Day Test? Who died and made Cricket Australia or any other cricketing board the supreme overlord of cricket?

The ICC.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Until RSA can get crowds of 90,000, they can go an get stuffed in my opinion.

 

[Xuhaib]

Until RSA can get crowds of 90,000, they can go an get stuffed in my opinion.

The "Bullring" on Boxing day would create an equally good atmosphere.

 

[TT Boy]

Until RSA can get crowds of 90,000, they can go an get stuffed in my opinion.

Charming.

 

[Perm]

The "Bullring" on Boxing day would create an equally good atmosphere.

It sure would, but they'd need to get 90,000 people in to watch the game in the first place.

 

[Perm]

Charming.

He has a point though, in the end this sort of thing is almost exclusively about money. The Boxing Day Test match generates huge amounts of money and I don't think that anything South Africa could do would match that.

Of course I can see the merits of allowing both countries to have a Boxing Day Test by making the northern teams tour around that time.

 

[Dasa]

Broadcasting on TV makes much more money than anything you can get from stadium attendance. It really doesn't matter whether 1 person or 90,000 turn up, as long as enough people are watching on TV.

 

[chaminda_00]

Can we get Test Matches in our proper summer as well, rather then being forced to play Test matches outside our season, then for our troubles only get Two test matches. Our domestic summer starts in December as well, but we never get to play matches during that period cus we have to make way for NZ, RSA and Australia. The whole international scheduling thing is joke and baised to a couple teams.

When we got asked to change our Test schedule to the English summer, we were told it was going to be rotated and it hasn't changed for 5 years. And people wondering why there isn't any crowds at Test matches. No one going to watch matches out of season. The only reason you get crowds this time of year at ODIs cus they moved the matches outside Colombo where they don't get as much cricket in generally like Carins and Townsville and even thats died off due to over kill. Bring back December Test matches, or atleast give us 3 Test Match Series.

 

[Craig]

It sure would, but they'd need to get 90,000 people in to watch the game in the first place.

Could the stadium (Wanders) even hold 90,000 people in the first place?

 

[Perm]

Could the stadium (Wanders) even hold 90,000 people in the first place?

I wouldn't have a clue, but it's a big stadium so it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Craig]

I wouldn't have a clue, but it's a big stadium so it wouldn't surprise me.

Turns out it is only 27,000

 

[Perm]

Turns out it is only 27,000

Geez that can't be right, I thought it would hold way more people than that.

 

[chaminda_00]

Could the stadium (Wanders) even hold 90,000 people in the first place?

So Culcutta should hold Boxing Day Tests, as it can hold over 100,000 or something?

 

[Perm]

So Culcutta should hold Boxing Day Tests, as it can hold over 100,000 or something?

Eden Gardens? That wasn't really the point though, India AFAIK don't really care too much about Boxing Day Tests, especially as it would be in the wrong season.