Australia and India Face Off in Adelaide: A Classic in Times of Covid
After a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, Australia and India prepare for a new confrontation at the Adelaide Oval, the scene of their previous encounter in 2018. The presence of the scoreboard and the iconic Moreton Bay trees provide a sense of continuity, a perfect backdrop for India’s first day/night Test away from home. This encounter between two of the most powerful cricket nations promises to be more special than any other in the last 20 years, a period of almost constant contact. The very realization of the series is a triumph. Since 1999, Australia and India have contested 12 Test series, a number comparable to Australia’s Ashes series against England in the same period. Uncertainty about the series’s holding was palpable during the months of March, April, and May, when the sporting world was paralyzed. Despite the goodwill between Cricket Australia and the BCCI, the obstacles to the organization were significant. CA’s interim chief executive Nick Hockley and chairman Earl Eddings faced logistical challenges, such as finding a point of entry for the Indian team’s charter plane. Initial plans to land in Perth were modified, considering Adelaide and Brisbane, before Sydney, Canberra, the New South Wales government, and the SCG Trust took the lead. Negotiations with the Queensland government generated great anxiety.Even after the arrival of the Indians, a Covid outbreak in Adelaide threatened the series. The Adelaide Oval was scheduled to host at least one Test, and possibly two, due to the lockdown in Melbourne. Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough has adapted the pitch for a Test match, prioritizing preparation over traditional events.
Practice sessions in the center court are presented as a competitive advantage for the Australians, who arrived earlier than those who played for Australia A at the SCG.“One thing we’ve learned with Covid is to be more in the present,” Hough said. “We like to plan months in advance. We still had plans, but we had to live in the moment a little more.”
Damian Hough
Paine, who values his cricket career more than many, does not feel fatigue from the “bubbles” and enjoys the current situation.“Everyone has big plans to get the best players out, don’t they? But that’s why they’re the best, they can adapt, they can change with what you’re doing, and Virat is certainly one of the best players, if not the best player in the world,” Paine said.
Tim Paine
The series between India and Australia promises to be a vibrant event in a global context marked by the pandemic.“Absolutely not. I love it, to be honest,” Paine said. “I don’t think this hub has been as strict as perhaps the IPL or the one in England. I sleep very well at night; my kids are at home, which is good in a way, but I certainly miss them. But I sleep better here and feel fresher here than at home, so life in the hub might make me play longer, if anything.”
Tim Paine
