Cricket Australia bans minibar in BBL hubs

The Tonk is not aware of any outrage at the minibar ban per se but the ruling has perturbed some who cannot understand why their room can be serviced by staff yet the fridge cannot be re-stocked.

It turns out there is a commonsense reason why this is the case. Cricket Australia want to minimise interaction between players and hotel staff to limit the chance of any virus spreading. Hub residents can of course head to the shops to purchase any essential items.

In the wake of Tuesday night’s meeting, which was described by one attendant as a “shit show”, CA has acknowledged it perhaps needs to spend more time explaining the whys over the whats regarding its protocols.

CA, which is easing restrictions as the COVID-19 situation improves, feels the tension could be due to apprehension from those yet to enter the BBL hub. Its feedback so far from the international men’s and Australia A hubs – the latter starting on Thursday – has been positive.

Adelaide outbreak costs Renegades

Cricket has dodged a major drama with the coronavirus cluster in Adelaide but not so several of the competition’s star imports from Afghanistan.

The Melbourne Renegades’ Mohammad Nabi will miss the first two games of the tournament after his travel plans were thrown into chaos by the outbreak.

Nabi was due to land in Adelaide but his arrival into the country was delayed a week due to South Australia’s international flight ban.

Instead, the world’s No.1 ranked T20 all-rounder had to endure a circuitous route on four to five flights, with two overnight stays, to make it to Brisbane from Kabul.

Also affected were Nabi’s Renegades teammate Noor Ahmad and the Brisbane Heat’s Mujeeb ur Rahman.

Unlike the Australians and Team India, who were allowed to train during their quarantine in Sydney, Nabi cannot leave his room, so his training may be limited to not much more than shadow batting and bowling.

Chicken don’t vote for hubs

There’s a saying that turkeys don’t vote for Christmas, and it appears chickens might have a similar view when it comes to WBBL hubs.

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The competition has produced some impressive ratings in its second standalone season – and there were some handy numbers generated in the village at Sydney Olympic Park as well.

The Accor hotel, which housed eight teams, 24 match officials and 35 Cricket Australia staff over 59 days, served 26,016 dietarian approved meals in the facility’s dedicated dining hall.

The Tonk has learned players and officials consumed almost a tonne of chicken – 986 kg to be precise – 412 kg of broccoli, 490 punnets of strawberries, 2988 litres of dairy milk and 356 litres of almond milk.

Staff also cleaned 1122 bags of personal laundry to go with 75 team kit bags – which equates to about 20 a day.

Coffee proved popular, with the hotel getting through 204 kg to make 28,560 cups, while 1.7 tonnes of ice was in the dreaded recovery ice baths.

Kaspa’s change of scenery

It’s been four months since Michael Kasprowicz quit as a Cricket Australia director but he’s back in the game. The former Test paceman has swapped the shirt and tie of the boardroom for the maroon tracksuit.

The Queensland great has taken up a coaching role in the state’s program, helping out the Bulls players not involved in the Big Bash League and also the development squad.

Our spies tell us the veteran of 38 Tests is enjoying the change in scenery after nine years on the CA board.