Australia and India face off in Adelaide in a historic test match
After a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, Australia and India prepare for a new confrontation at the Adelaide Oval, the same venue where their previous series began in 2018. The presence of the old scoreboard and the iconic Moreton Bay fig trees at the north end of the field evokes the tradition of Test cricket, and will serve as a 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 memorable, exceeding the expectations of any previous series in the last 20 years. The very realization of the series is an achievement in itself, considering the circumstances.
Despite the financial influences that have driven India and Australia to contest 12 Test series since 1999, a number similar to the Ashes series that Australia has played against England in the same period, participants and spectators have faced uncertainties about the viability of the series.
During the difficult months of March, April and May, when world sport stopped, the possibility of the series not taking place was a real concern. Recently, the challenges focused on overcoming the obstacles to organize the series, despite the goodwill between Cricket Australia and the BCCI.
CA thanked that the administrators and players of India did not raise major problems with the tour, especially in a year where their leaders faced battles with state associations, state governments and broadcasters with rights.
The challenges for CA’s interim chief executive Nick Hockley and chairman Earl Eddings centered on finding a port 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 finally took the lead. Tensions reached a peak during extensive negotiation with the Queensland government.
Even after the arrival of the Indians, there was a possibility that a Covid outbreak in Adelaide would disrupt the series. Adelaide Oval was scheduled to host at least one and possibly two Tests, given the prolonged quarantine in Melbourne that overshadowed Boxing Day until October.
However, an outbreak that forced a brief lockdown in South Australia led to considering the possibility of starting the Test series with a day/night Test at the MCG and then playing a more traditional match from December 26. Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough, who has managed rock concerts and football match changes in the past, has prepared a pitch for a Test match with a Christmas parade instead of Sheffield Shield matches as preparation.
“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,” he added. “[A U2 concert last year] was a much bigger challenge than what we’re going through this year. I never thought I’d see a Christmas parade at the Adelaide Oval, so it’s a unique year.”
Damian HoughHough also noted that the Australian team had the advantage of training in the center of the court for several days, which he considered crucial for adapting to the match conditions.
The sessions in the center of the court are an invaluable competitive advantage for the members of the Australian team who arrived before those who played for Australia A against the Indians on a different surface at the SCG, something that Paine did not hesitate to highlight.
“We’ve been very lucky to get to Adelaide early,” Paine said. “We trained three nights in a row in the middle of the pitch at the Adelaide Oval, which I think will be a big advantage for our team. It’s the most difficult thing about the Test with the pink ball; you normally have it once a year. Sometimes with a Shield match, this time without one. So you’re practically learning on the go, in real time, when you go out on the field.”
“To try to adapt to conditions that are so strange to us, with the lights on and a pink ball. So it’s strange. But we have managed to have three nights in the center of the court at the Adelaide Oval, which has been fantastic for our group, batsmen and bowlers, to get an idea of what it’s like again. Reviving your memory of last year will be a great advantage for us tomorrow.”
Kohli’s adaptation, who didn’t even play in the SCG warm-up match, will be as crucial as any other factor for the result in Adelaide. It will be intensified by the fact that this is Kohli’s only Test match for the series, making it a unique event before Ajinkya Rahane takes over the leadership for the remaining three matches.
With players like Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon, the Australians have had considerable success in dismissing Kohli early in each of the previous two series. However, overcoming that phase has shown that Kohli can damage even the most praised attack.
“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. “There will be a time in this, well, there’s really only one Test, so let’s hope not, but when you play against players as good as Virat, sometimes they get away from you, that’s the game.”
Tim Paine
Paine added that the Australian team has plans in place that have worked against Kohli in the past, and is confident that they will work on this occasion. He also highlighted the diversity of their attack, which offers different angles, speeds and the skill of Nathan Lyon and Marnus Labuschagne.
It’s refreshing that tactical discussions and plans for the start of the Test series take center stage, rather than Covid protocols, border restrictions, and the financial impacts of the year. Paine, who values his Test career more than most after nearly retiring from cricket altogether in 2017, doesn’t feel “bubble fatigue” at the moment, when asked if such considerations could shorten what remains of his time at the top of the game.
“Absolutely not. I love it, to be honest,” Paine said. “I don’t think this hub has been as strict as maybe the IPL or England’s. 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.”
While there may have been a touch of fatigue in recent years due to the frequency of encounters between India and Australia, the events of 2020 have ensured that this latest chapter is as vivid as any sporting competition, while many around the world remain confined by a pandemic.
