MCG Chief Offers To Host Ind-Aus Test Series Opener If Covid-19 Threat Persists In Adelaide

The first of the 4-match Test series between Indian and Australia is scheduled to get underway at Adelaide from December 17.However, the outbreak of fresh cases of coronavirus in Adelaide have put serious doubts on whether the venue could likely play host for the Test match.

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Amid the lethal coronavirus threat looming large over Adelaide, the venue for the 1st India-Australia Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) chief Stuart Fox has offered to host the Test series opener if the conditions are not conducive in the South Australian city to host the match. This development comes after South Australian Premier Steven Marshall said that while he is hopeful the first Test will take place at the Adelaide Oval, he did give a guarantee for the same to happen. The first of the 4-match Test series between Indian and Australia is scheduled to get underway at Adelaide from December 17.However, the outbreak of fresh cases of coronavirus in Adelaide have put serious doubts on whether the venue could likely play host for the Test match. "If the game had to be moved, the MCC would be ready to mobilise and the MCG would be available," Fox told The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. The iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is scheduled to host the 'Boxing Day' second Test from December 26. It is notable that Sydney Cricket Ground had also extended help as an alternate back-up venue if things do not turn out normal at Adelaide. "We are still hopeful that the cricket will go ahead. What we are doing in South Australia is putting all those people we think pose the biggest risk, those people that have come into contact with someone who is infectious, we have put them into quarantine as quickly as possible," Marshall was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, several members of the Australian Test squad were air-lifted from South Australia to New South Wales amid the outbreak of fresh Covid-19 cases across clusters in Adelaide. The players, airlifted by Cricket Australia (CA) in a chartered flight, include Test players Skipper Tim Paine,Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Wade and Travis Head were among those airlifted in a special flight arranged by Cricket Australia. South Australia had on Sunday announced a new Covid-19 cluster, as the number of cases quickly grew to 17 on Monday. The numbers, however, fell to five on Tuesday.