Australia in box seat, say Proteas

[King]

SOUTH Africa claims Australia has become a cricket superpower because of a heavily biased schedule that leaves most other Test nations with "scraps". More... Australia in box seat, say Proteas By Malcolm Conn June 28, 2007 SOUTH Africa claims Australia has become a cricket superpower because of a heavily biased schedule that leaves most other Test nations with "scraps". Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola believes the International Cricket Council future tours program favours Australia so much that it is forcing other countries into financial hardship. Speaking in support of a South Africa submission discussed at high-level ICC meetings in London this week, Majola confirmed the Boxing Day and New Year's Tests next season would be the last played by South Africa in Australia. Cricket Australia insists, however, even with South Africa's stance, that those "icon" Tests are locked in for at least the next five years, and it dismisses Majola's criticism as "nonsense". Majola claims Australia has been favoured over all other countries on the future tours program, which was introduced last year and expires after the 2011-2012 summer. Each Test nation must play every other country at home and away in at least two Tests and three limited-overs matches in that time. "All of the countries were asked to submit our most favourable times, and seven countries all had the same peak period of Box Day and New Year's," Majola said from London yesterday. "Yet when the FTP was drawn up, only Australia got it every year in Australia. No other country had that privilege. For me that was seriously unacceptable and I challenged that." South Africa also hosts a Boxing Day and New Year's Test each summer, except when it tours Australia every four years as part of a long-standing agreement that expires after South Africa's next tour in 2008-2009. Majola is furious that this agreement was signed by a previous administration, even though South Africa receives compensation, understood to be $300,000. "To my amazement, my predecessor had signed a deal," he said. "This was for a fee that was so seriously lacking that it doesn't even cover all the players' fees and salaries." Majola claimed that he offered Australia the chance to rotate the Boxing Day and New Year Tests between countries during their touring cycle every four years. However, Cricket Australia rejected the proposal, claiming the Melbourne and Sydney Tests were "icon" events that underpinned the Australian summer. Majola also questioned the amount of cricket played by Australia. "I am taking nothing away from Australia being as good as they are but I think the schedule has made Australia into a superpower," he said. "They play more home games and most of those home games are during their peak period, therefore financially they will always be fine because they get bigger crowds than anyone else. "There are only three countries which have far more games than anyone else: England, India and Australia. "Everybody else just gets the scraps of what is left over from that. "Our argument is that if the ICC wants the game to be globalised, there should be enough cricket to create equality. Because if you don't have the games in the first place, how are you going to develop your players to compete with the best?" Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland believes Majola's arguments are simplistic and wrong. "To suggest that Australia is a superpower because of programming is a nonsense," Sutherland said from London last night. "We have been making a huge investment in the grass roots up for decades." Sutherland claimed it was wrong to link ticket sales from large crowds with success when it generated no more than 15 per cent of revenue. About 20 per cent comes from sponsorship and between 65 and 70 per cent from television rights. "To suggest that Cricket Australia gets the program it wants is also a nonsense," he said. Sutherland pointed to the coming summer, when India will not arrive until the Boxing Day Test, leaving a three-week hole in the middle of Australia's traditional Test summer. He claimed this was a knock-on affect from the ICC programming the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa during September.

[King]

I guess the ICC plans are skewed. It used to work better before when there was no ICC ten year plans. Although the move to ensure all the test playing nations got equal opportunity to face each other ICC ends up favouring couple of nations more than the rest. I think South Africa has a point.