Australia and India Face Off in Adelaide: A Classic in Uncertain Times
In a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, Australia and India prepare for a new confrontation at the Adelaide Oval, the same scenario where their previous series began in 2018. The presence of the old scoreboard and the imposing Moreton Bay trees at the north end of the field provide a sense of continuity, an essential element in Test cricket. This will be the backdrop for the teams led by Tim Paine and Virat Kohli in the first day/night Test for India away from home. This encounter between two of the most powerful cricket nations promises to be more special than any other match in the last 20 years. The series itself is an achievement, considering the challenges that have arisen.Since 1999, India and Australia have contested 12 test series, the same number that Australia has played against England in the Ashes series during the same period. This year, the uncertainty about the realization of the series was constant, especially during the difficult months of March, April and May, when the world of sport stopped.
Cricket Australia (CA) has faced challenges with state associations, state governments, and broadcasters, but appreciates that the administrators and players from India have not presented significant problems for the tour. The hurdles for CA’s interim chief executive Nick Hockley and chairman Earl Eddings centered on finding a point of entry for the charter plane carrying the visiting team. Initial plans to land in Perth were amended to Adelaide and then to Brisbane, before Sydney, Canberra, the New South Wales government and the SCG Trust were ultimately chosen. Even after the arrival of the Indians, there was a possibility that a Covid outbreak in Adelaide would alter the series. For a long time, the Adelaide Oval was scheduled to host at least one and possibly two Tests, given the prolonged quarantine Melbourne faced for most of the year, which raised doubts about the Boxing Day Test until October. The Adelaide Oval curator, Damian Hough, has had to adapt to changes. “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 bit more.” Training sessions in the center of the field seem to be a competitive advantage for the Australians, according to Paine.
Paine also commented on the importance of having different strategies and options in their attack to face Kohli. Paine, who appreciates his Test career more than most, doesn’t feel fatigue from the “bubble” at the moment. “No, not at all. I love it, to be honest,” Paine said. “I don’t think this bubble has been as strict as the IPL or England’s. I sleep very well; my children 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 bubble might make me play longer, if anything.” The events of 2020 have ensured that this latest chapter is as vibrant as any sporting competition, at a time when many around the world remain confined by the pandemic.“Everyone has big plans to get the best players out, don’t they?, but that’s why they are the best, they can adapt, they can change with what you are doing, and Virat is undoubtedly one of the best players, if not the best player in the world,” Paine said.
Tim Paine
