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- Aug 15, 2000
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My mate's a bit of a criket nut and he's come up with a four year plan where Australia would host every international side (including Bangladesh) in a test series. I think the ICC have moved in the direction of having every team play in at least one test series over a five year period, though I'm not certain on that!
It's virtually impossible for Australia to host every team over just 4 summer series so he's proposed that once every four years there's a Winter series when Australia plays 2 Test series of 2 matches in Northern Australia. This would help to promote the profile and interest in cricket in areas which often don't recieve much high level cricket.
My mate's also dissappointed by the fact that India and Pakistan have only played in the one Test Series in the last decade due to hostilities between the two nations. So he's proposed that during Australian Winters when Australia are either overseas or not playing, these North Australian venues would be available for countries who otherwise wouldn't play unless the match was at a neutral venue, or in other extreme circumstances. An example of this was recently when the West Indies were unwilling to tour Pakistan due to security concerns, and eventually a deal was brokered where the Test Series was played in the United Arab Emirates. In future, under the proposal, North Australian venues could be used in such a scenario.
Obviously, the countries playing in the Winter series would be countries such as Bangladesh which don't have much of a tradition or following over here, but would still create interest in the city they're playing in such it has been deprived previously of Test match cricket. My mate's suggested Townsville, Darwin, and possibly Cairns as Test match venues for the Winter series. I think he's plan has some merit to it but I think that cities such as Canberra and Newcastle are two cities which would be dissappointed if cities in Northern Australia received Test matches while they didn't. At the moment, if Australia were to decide on creating a 7th Australian Test match venue, Manuka Oval would be my preferred pick.
Anyway, here's the schedule he developed. Do you believe it's got some merit or believe that it's not realistic?
Four Year Plan
Australian Summer
Season 1 vs. England (6 Tests)
Season 2 vs. Pakistan (3 Tests)
vs. India (3 Tests)
Season 3 vs. West Indies (4 Tests)
vs. Zimbabwe (2 Tests)
Season 4 vs. New Zealand (3 Tests)
vs. South Africa (3 Tests)
Australian Winter
Season 1 - Free -Available for neutral tests between conflicting nations or other circumstances
Season 2 - vs. Sri Lanka (2 Tests)
- vs. Bangladesh (2 Tests) to be played the centres of Townsville & Darwin
Season 3 - Australia touring England on Ashes Test series at this time however Northern Australian venues are available for neutral tests between conflicting nations or other circumstances, eg. India vs. Pakistan
Season 4 - Free -Available for neutral tests between conflicting nations or other circumstances
It's virtually impossible for Australia to host every team over just 4 summer series so he's proposed that once every four years there's a Winter series when Australia plays 2 Test series of 2 matches in Northern Australia. This would help to promote the profile and interest in cricket in areas which often don't recieve much high level cricket.
My mate's also dissappointed by the fact that India and Pakistan have only played in the one Test Series in the last decade due to hostilities between the two nations. So he's proposed that during Australian Winters when Australia are either overseas or not playing, these North Australian venues would be available for countries who otherwise wouldn't play unless the match was at a neutral venue, or in other extreme circumstances. An example of this was recently when the West Indies were unwilling to tour Pakistan due to security concerns, and eventually a deal was brokered where the Test Series was played in the United Arab Emirates. In future, under the proposal, North Australian venues could be used in such a scenario.
Obviously, the countries playing in the Winter series would be countries such as Bangladesh which don't have much of a tradition or following over here, but would still create interest in the city they're playing in such it has been deprived previously of Test match cricket. My mate's suggested Townsville, Darwin, and possibly Cairns as Test match venues for the Winter series. I think he's plan has some merit to it but I think that cities such as Canberra and Newcastle are two cities which would be dissappointed if cities in Northern Australia received Test matches while they didn't. At the moment, if Australia were to decide on creating a 7th Australian Test match venue, Manuka Oval would be my preferred pick.
Anyway, here's the schedule he developed. Do you believe it's got some merit or believe that it's not realistic?
Four Year Plan
Australian Summer
Season 1 vs. England (6 Tests)
Season 2 vs. Pakistan (3 Tests)
vs. India (3 Tests)
Season 3 vs. West Indies (4 Tests)
vs. Zimbabwe (2 Tests)
Season 4 vs. New Zealand (3 Tests)
vs. South Africa (3 Tests)
Australian Winter
Season 1 - Free -Available for neutral tests between conflicting nations or other circumstances
Season 2 - vs. Sri Lanka (2 Tests)
- vs. Bangladesh (2 Tests) to be played the centres of Townsville & Darwin
Season 3 - Australia touring England on Ashes Test series at this time however Northern Australian venues are available for neutral tests between conflicting nations or other circumstances, eg. India vs. Pakistan
Season 4 - Free -Available for neutral tests between conflicting nations or other circumstances
