1st ODI Aus v England Sunday Jan 14, MCG 2:20pm

[Marstermind]

The only issue with this is if you have to make a change to the test team later in the series for form or injury (after 3rd test for example), the domestic players have been playing T20 for a long time which is not ideal. I think the BBL needs to start later personally. Gives the domestic players longer than a couple of shield games to push their case for test selection.

Good point, but that's pretty much where cricket is at with so many formats and levels. Touring teams have that problem regularly and worse - Mason Crane was selected for the Fifth Test having not played a First Class match for 7 weeks and having not played against anyone at any level for nearly 4.

 

[Damon_3388]

Why is there a four day break in between games here? So unnecessarily drawn out.

 

[Torz]

Why is there a four day break in between games here? So unnecessarily drawn out.

But then only a day between the next two. Strange.

 

[Damon_3388]

But then only a day between the next two. Strange.

In general, they need to really look at tightening up the whole summer schedule, for both internationals and domestic matches.

 

[ROOTA#6]

But then only a day between the next two. Strange.

Because they want the games on weekends or a Friday

 

[eddiesmith]

They had to drag the series out so it makes Australia Day!

I do miss the old tri series days, with games Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. Only disappointment was Tuesday games often day games as Ch9 didn’t want the neutral match in prime time or Hobart was hosting and had no lights

 

[Scotland]

Because they want the games on weekends or a Friday

This. Back in the days of the tri-series they used to try and schedule games involving Australia around weekends so they could get a Friday D/N and a Sunday game in, then have the other two teams playing on Tuesdays.

 

[ioppolo]

As a kid I loved watching the touring sides play on a Tuesday on tv during holidays. I remember being mesmerized as a 9 year old watching Brian Lara destroy Pakistan at the WACA one summer.

 

[The Speaker]

I'm with you on this one. The thought of "have the ODIs in the school holidays cos the kids like it" was last true in about 1997. The kids get their BBL fix and would still get it at nights during the holidays after the play in Tests is done.

How about this?
ODIs in late November/early December. Friday nights (so that the kids from the 80s like myself can still go after work) and Sundays. Not as long after the domestics 50 over tournament.
1st Test - Brisbane. Mid December
BBL start coincides with school holidays as it does now and runs throughout.
2nd Test - Melbourne. Boxing Day. No chance the best attended Test can be a dead rubber.
3rd Test - Sydney. New Years. Same dead rubber scenario as Melbourne.
4th Test - Perth. Mid January.
5th Test - Adelaide. Australia Day. Night Test. BBL qualifiers done by now. Teams gets 5 nights off before Semis.
BBL Finals - Early February
T20I - February. (Not necessary at all IMO. Especially if Australia are touring. Ridiculous last year playing on the same day as a Test in India.)

Of course, England are the only team we play 5 test series against anymore. What's next year? 4 against India and 2 against someone else? Sri Lanka? So this model doesn't necessarily work. Counter to the earlier ODI argument is that last year ODIs were played in early December against NZ with just 20,000 at the MCG and 9,000 in Canberra. In 2014, 2 matches against South Africa in November in Melbourne and Sydney just nudged over 30,000....combined!

But CA have to acknowledge that ODIs have plummeted in popularity here. People bemoan not getting 50,000 to the G yesterday, but the G hasn't hit 50,000 for a non-World Cup ODI for 10 years. The crowd yesterday was only a smidge down on the crowd against England 4 years ago. In fact, only India have had it hitting 40,000. And it's not just Melbourne, no established cricket venue in Australia has had anywhere near a full-house for a non-World Cup ODI in that time. The marketing has been woeful (Australia's Greatest Dress-Up Party - did they really believe that people would spend all day at the cricket to see two blokes dressed as Mario, a few Supermans and a whole bunch of Where's Wallys?), the bi-lateral series irrelevant (who REALLY cares who wins?), largely predictable (Since 2009 the Jan/Feb scorelines have been 4-1, 2-2, 5-0, 4-0, 6-1, 2-2, 5-0, 4-1, 4-1, 4-1) and one-sided (of the 87 ODI matches Australia has played in that time only 18 came down to the last over, the last 3 wickets or was decided by less than 10 runs).

The kids in 1997 liked Tamagotchis. Cricket Australia are still trying to sell Tamagotchis. No one's buying - the kids are playing on a Xbox One X.

This is more or less what I've been wanting for a while - thanks for taking the effort to spell it out.

 

[dogs105]

Head is going to be a special cricketer

This sort of foresight from almost 6 years ago is just what we need more of on the cricket board!!