Brisbane: Former Australian cricketer-turned-commentator Allan Border has criticized his country’s cricket board and urged them not to bow down to BCCI’s proposal of rescheduling the Sydney Test.
The visiting board has delivered a proposal to the presenter to reschedule the Sydney Test to January 7, which normally begins in the first week of the new year.
Border is not satisfied with the call of postponement as he feels that the schedule should not be negotiated if the visiting board wants extra days off between the Boxing Day and the New Year’s Test match (Sydney Test).
“I don’t think it should be a negotiated scenario. If it’s necessary because of what is happening globally with the virus then fair enough, but if it’s just because they want a bit of a spell off between Boxing Day and the New Year’s Test match then that’s rubbish,” Border told Fox Sports News.
“We’ve been doing this for how many years now, back-to-back Test matches? It works a treat through that Christmas-New Year period and I wouldn’t be comfortable with it moving just because India want a couple more days off,” he added.
Border also said that the visiting board are playing mind games as they consider themselves the strength of world cricket. “I think they’re just playing mind games. They consider themselves the strength of world cricket, and financially that is the case so they do have a fair say in things.But if the roles were reversed, we wouldn’t have much say in the itinerary, it would just be put in front of us and these are the dates that we’re going to play,” he further added.
India’s tour to Australia is the most-foreseen series’ for Cricket Australia but it was delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic which has hit the normal fixture. The board has made distinct settings for the series, including the bio-bubble environment, as the traditional four-Test series will help them to recover from the mislaying due to non-commencement of matches.
As per the original schedule, the first of four-match series between Australia and India will begun from December 3 in the bio-bubble. The final Test will finish on January 7, 2021 which will be act in accordance with a three-match ODI series. Though no official fixture is announced yet.
