MCG may retain the Boxing Test only if Crowd is allowed: Cricket Australia

Even as the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust chairman Tony Shepherd assured that the venue will be ‘very happy’ to host the iconic Boxing Day Test if it moves out of Melbourne, Cricket Australia (CA) interim chief executive Nick Hockley said that Melbourne will not lose out on hosting the match if the crowd is allowed inside the stadium.

“It comes down to if we can get a crowd at the MCG we’ll play at the MCG,” Hockley was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. “All the restrictions that are ongoing, we are just hopeful that they take very quick effect and we get back on top of the situation and people can get out and about, we can get back to crowds and get back to live events.”

“It’s one of the most iconic events on the Australian sporting calendar. Certainly, at this stage, we are planning full steam ahead. We’re in really constructive discussions with the BCCI (the Indian cricket board) and the government to make sure we get all the travel exemptions for India to come,” he said.

Hockley’s statements come in the wake of media reports claiming that Adelaide had emerged as the frontrunner to host the Boxing Test due to rising COVID-19 cases in the state of Victoria.

Although, Adelaide is still being touted as the first choice, now SCG too has emerged as an option to host the iconic fixture which has traditionally been played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

“We’d be very happy to host it because it’s a major event and it’s good for Sydney, and people like coming to Sydney, and we have the capacity to host it if that’s what Cricket Australia want to do,” SCG Trust chairman Tony Shepherd told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“It would mean they would have to delay our Test if it went for five days through to December 30. We’ll need a six-day period to get the oval ready. For a Test match, it has to be perfect, you can’t have second-grade stuff,” Shepherd added.