Cricket Australia are in a spot of bother regarding the first of the four Test matches against India as there has been a surge in the number of positive cases in Adelaide, South Australia, the venue for the Day/Night contest. This would also be India’s first Pink-ball Test overseas.
On 17 November, Cricket Australia airlifted their players including Tim Paine, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Wade and Travis Head along with staff out of Adelaide to New South Wales ahead of the Test series which begins on 17 December.
While the board and authorities deal with the health scare, fast bowler Josh Hazlewood says they would not mind playing at Brisbane or Melbourne in a red-ball encounter to start off the series and then return to Adelaide for the Day/Night Test. Hazlewood feels the pink ball should not be used anywhere other than Adelaide Oval during the series.
"He (curator Damian Hough) has got the wicket perfect at Adelaide for a pink-ball Test," Hazlewood explained.
“A few grounds around Australia are too abrasive or too hard, such as the Gabba or Perth. Those wickets are too hard for a pink ball, it goes quite soft after a certain amount of time. Could be red ball (first Test in) Melbourne or Brisbane or somewhere, then we head back to Adelaide later on in the summer.
"From all reports we're still good for Adelaide but it can always change. Hopefully they can get on top of it in the next week or two."
Traditionally, the first Test of the Australian summer is played in Brisbane at the Gabba.
"The longer we wait the hotter it gets up there, so the quicks would all be happy to get that game done in December," Hazlewood said.
"We obviously have a really good record up there and it's a great place to start."
Australian head coach Justin Langer admitted there were some "pretty scrambled brains" trying to work through various contingency plans.
"Wherever it's played, it'll be a great contest," Langer said at the launch of his new book in Perth.
On India’s tour of 2018/19, India had refused to play a Day/Night Test but have since joined the Pink-ball bandwagon too and played their first game against Bangladesh in Kolkata. On this tour, they’re scheduled to play a pink-ball game against Australia A at the SCG on 11-13 December, their final tune-up for the series opener.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)