Cricket Australia Looking for Alternative to Stage India Series
Cricket Australia and the BCCI are working together to identify the “most innovative approaches” to bring India’s Down Under Test Tour later this year. Kevin Roberts, CEO of CA, confirmed on Tuesday (April 21) that the two boards would not rule out any possibility, including checking in front of vacant stands, to ensure that the series takes place as planned. He mentioned that they must discuss all possible alternatives, several of which have not yet been considered and we should be thankful for what we have got rather than lamenting what we do not have.
Roberts also said that luckily, they have a bit of time to think on the various possibilities for the Indian series, although they are not going to rule out the chance for this at this point of time. The responsibility of ensuring that the health and welfare of those involved is not compromised. However, it was uncompromising as to why one of those options could entail India playing five tests this summer, at the detriment of the one that Afghanistan was originally scheduled to play. But he did not fully rule out the chance either, though acknowledging the playing five-test series against each other in the future was a ” dream” for both parties. He added, much as the two nations are playing the five-test series against England. And that is what they are really open to in the future. But the major problem is whether they should put it in before the next run of future tours in 2023.
It is not a surprise that Cricket Australia is committing to pulling all the stops so as not to miss out on a widely expected and similarly lucrative summer event. It has been a week since CA first announced a substantial drop of cash savings, which also contributed to an 80 per cent pay-off of the bulk of employees, including head coaches, by June 30. Last Wednesday, Roberts reported to the media that the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak on global economies has already culminated in a AUD 20 million loss for Cricket Australia. By justifying the cost-cutting steps implemented by CA over the past week or so, he also maintained that without such “preventive measures” they would have been left with “little to combat” in the event that India’s tour may not take place.
Before the outbreak, they were already forecasting that their cash flow and investment would be reduced to around $40 million at the beginning of September of this year, and that by the beginning of the Indian Test series they will be bounced up to around $100 million, which is around the amount of cash and investment they had at the end of March. So, 20 million will take them from a low of $40 million in cash and spending, and all more surprises will push them further below that. If the foreign season becomes potentially disrupted, they’ve got hundreds of millions of dollars on their hands.
Roberts also insisted that the restructuring steps had preserved CA total of AUD 3 million, leading to their cumulative savings of AUD 20 million, and that they were only “one of the many levers” that the Board had taken to safeguard their rights. He also shared his condolences towards all the workers who had stepped down, whom he talked to earlier on Wednesday. He added that the suffering that those employees feel, who will stand down from next week onwards is part of the inspiration for them to handle this circumstance the best they can. Roberts claimed that there were a few reasons that contributed to a rapid fall in CA’s cash reserves. The biggest explanation he thought was that it was already a deficit year in addition to the effect of the pandemic on the capital markets. He also felt that CA’s habit of investing in equities was not only warranted, but also a saving grace-an extra AUD 10 million-in such unpredictable times.
India’s tour of Australia as of now falls on the back of the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin in October. And Roberts has announced that the CA is already planning to hold a mega-event, which will see 16 teams move to Australia, even though at this point it appears impossible to happen given the various move constraints across the world. They are very mindful of their responsibility on international cricket events and they will do whatever is necessary at this point in time. Since they are not generating any revenue from the case, greater returns from television rights around the game produced by the ICC are very valuable to many of our colleagues around the cricket world. For now, Roberts and CA are relying on the Indian series to ensure that their cash-bank is in order while also planning for the worst. The planning included a proposal to take 25 percent of Cricket Australia’s running costs out next financial year, and a further strategy to move further so that they can take the correct steps forward and a proposal to go further.
