Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg is certainly not pleased with the pitch dished out for the fourth Test between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The match ended in only two days for the second time in the Test series, and Tests might be entertaining, but they aren’t good for business.
The opening day of the Boxing Test witnessed a record crowd of 94,199 thronging the MCG to watch their heroes play. Even on the second day, more than 90000 people were at the venue and a similar number of fans were expected on the third day, with tickets sold out.
CA CEO reckons 20 wickets falling on Day 1 is too much
However, a spicy pitch favouring the bowlers meant 36 wickets fell in six sessions, even as England chased down the target of 175 runs in the fourth innings to win by four wickets. Australia have already lost around AUD$ 5 million after the first Test in Perth ended inside two days, with as many as 19 wickets falling on the opening day.
Cricket Australia are staring at yet another massive loss with the Boxing Day Test not living up to the expectations. He also admitted that he didn’t sleep well after 20 wickets fell on the opening day of Boxing Day Test. “The short answer for that in my opinion, is yes (when asked about 20 wickets falling on first day is too much). As mesmerising and fascinating and enjoyable as it was to watch as a fan, we want Test cricket clearly to go for longer.
“A simple phrase I’d use is short Tests are bad for business. I can’t be much more blunt than that. So I would like to see a slightly broader balance between the bat and the ball. I thought yesterday slightly favoured the ball. The batters have some ownership in some of that, it’s not all around the pitch, but we’ve got some challenges,” Greenberg said while speaking to SEN ahead of play on Day 2.
“Historically we have taken a hands-off approach in all of our wicket preparation and allowed the staff and the conditions and those characteristics to be presented. ut it’s hard not to get more involved when you see the impact on the sport, particularly commercially,” the CA CEO added. “I didn’t sleep well last night, put it that way,” Greenberg said. “It was an amazing day of Test cricket, so for that record number of people who were here, boy, they’ve had an experience. But our challenge is to make sure we can continue those experiences day after day. That’s the challenge for all of us,” he further said.
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