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CRICKET-AUS-HEALTH-VIRUS
Cricket Australia warns of ‘hundreds of millions’ in losses
SYDNEY, April 21, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Cricket Australia could lose
hundreds of millions of dollars if this year’s Test tour by India is
scrapped because of the coronavirus, its chief executive warned on
Tuesday.
Kevin Roberts said Australia was considering extending the four-Test
series to five games, which would mean sacrificing the one-off Test
against Afghanistan in November.
In October and November Australia are also hosting the Twenty20
World Cup, for which the International Cricket Council has said it is
“exploring all options”.
Roberts said Cricket Australia had already lost Au$20 million ($12.6
million) since the start of the coronavirus crisis, a figure that
would balloon if India cannot tour.
“If you contemplate the prospect of the international season, in
particular, being affected, we have an issue of hundreds of millions
of dollars on our hands,” Roberts told Australian media in a
conference call.
“So it’s very important we plan proactively for that.”
India, the world’s top Test team, enjoy a huge domestic audience,
making their tours an important source of income for host nations.
Roberts said Australia and India had a “shared desire” to move to a
five-Test series in the future, which would put it on a par with the
biennial Ashes games against England.
“We don’t know what prospect there is of that next season, but
certainly with a changing landscape… we won’t rule out a possibility
of that until we get closer to the time,” he said, according to the
Sporting News website.
Roberts added that “creative solutions” may be needed as discussions
continue behind the scenes about potential cuts to players’ pay.
Cricket Australia has already sent home most of its administrative
staff on reduced pay, which Roberts said was necessary to stave off
financial disaster in case of further disruption this year.
“We respect the player payment model that is in place now, and we
intend to continue respecting that,” Roberts said.
“It doesn’t mean disrespecting the current model at all,” he added.
“It just means we need creative solutions like every other
organisation in society to manage through this situation respectfully
to all parties involved.”
BSS/AFP/MRU/1701hrs