The Victorian Government says it expects a crowd of around 25,000 spectators will be able to attend each day’s play of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India at the MCG.
Key points:
- A definite crowd capacity will be confirmed closer to the Boxing Day Test
- The four-Test series will open with a day-night Test in Adelaide
- Sydney and Brisbane will also host Tests
The State Government’s announcement follows Cricket Australia’s (CA) confirmation the traditional Boxing Day Test would be played in Melbourne at the MCG, as a morale-lifter for the Victorian capital, which has been hit so hard by COVID-19.
Crowd capacity will be confirmed closer to the match but the Victorian Government is hopeful it will be capped at around 25,000 spectators, which is a quarter of the MCG’s capacity.
The Victorian Government, CA and the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) will develop a “COVIDSafe” plan to enable spectators to safely attend the Test.
“A crowd of 25,000 is an estimate,” Victorian Minister for Sport Martin Pakula said.
“We’ve been really clear with Cricket Australia and the MCC but we will make a final decision about numbers closer to the day.
“There’s been lots of engagement between Cricket Australia and the (Victorian) public health team and at this stage that is what we believe will be the safe and appropriate number per day at the MCG.
“It’s probably going to be a while until we see 100,000 people at the MCG but I think given we have had no crowds for so long it’s a really good start.”
Mr Pakula said confirmation the MCG would host the Boxing Day Test was just reward for Victorians, who had been living under COVID-19 restrictions for months.
“It’s been a long journey for Victorians and Melburnians,” he said.
“The last time we were here with a crowd was for the Women’s T20 World Cup final where we had some 86,000 people here [at the MCG].
“To have confirmation that the Boxing Day Test will be back here at the MCG I think is a great boon for cricket but also for Victorians who have contributed so much to getting our (positive COVID-19 test) numbers down as they have over the last few months.”
CA and the MCC also announced they have negotiated a new agreement that will see the MCG host the Boxing Day Test through to 2022.
The Border-Gavaskar Test series against India will open with a day-night Test in Adelaide on December 17.
The SCG will host the third Test on January 7, while Brisbane, which was originally set to host the opening Test of the series, will now host the fourth at the Gabba on January 15.
India is due to arrive in Sydney on November 12 and will quarantine at a hotel for two weeks at Sydney’s Olympic Park, where the team can also train.
Australia’s cricketers who are currently playing in the Indian Premier League, including Steve Smith and David Warner, will also go into quarantine.
“Australia and India represent one of the great rivalries in world sport and we are delighted to welcome Virat Kohli’s outstanding squad to Australian shores this summer,” Cricket Australia’s interim boss Nick Hockley said.
Once out of quarantine, the Indians will play Australia in three One-Day Internationals on November 27 and 29 at the SCG and December 2 at Canberra’s Manuka Oval.
The two teams will then play a T20 International at Manuka on December 4, before returning to Sydney for another two T20s at the SCG on December 6 and 8.
The Border-Gavaskar series picks up at the end of the T20s following a tour match against Australia A at the SCG from December 11-13.
India won the last Border-Gavaskar series to be played on Australian shores 2-1 in 2018/19 season.
The series was Tim Paine’s first as skipper and did not feature Steve Smith or David Warner, who were banned for their part in the ball tampering scandal.
