Only six tests in the next Australian summer

[Occasional Fan]

Cricket Australia has released the schedule for the 2005/6 season. Link here.

I am a bit surprised to see only three tests each against West Indies and South Africa. Is this usual? (There is, of course, the "test" against the World XI as well, but, even if I am in a minority on this issue, I don't see that as anything more than an exhibition match.) Including the three matches against the World XI, and assuming the rather long VB series featuring Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka goes to a third final, there are 18 ODIs, and the West Indians get none of them. Seems awfully unbalanced to me. Maybe one of our Aussie members can tell me if my perception is right or wrong?

[Milo]

OF, it is my understanding that the West Indies were offered a two test series this winter to coincide with their participation in the one day series in Australia. As the Frank Worrell trohpy has usually been five tests in Australia, the West Indies took umbrage to this and said they wouldn't agree to it.

Therefore, I presume they've slotted this series in next year as a replacement (with three instead of two tests). This would explain why they are not in the VB series. I must admit, it really made no sense flying them out there this winter for just some one day series. I suppose you have to salute Australia for realising that five tests against this modern WI side is just ludicrous but they should have offered the 3 last year and not the same number as they offered Bangladesh.

Strangely, South Africa have never had more than a three match series against Australia, although usually they do have the immediate return leg. I'm not sure this is happening now, as I seem to remember Australia tour South Africa next in 2006/7. Is this right?

[Occasional Fan]

South Africa host Australia in February 2006. The trouble with all these tour arrangements is that, so it seems to me, we then get into a series of allegedly reciprocal arrangements - i.e. we gave you a series so you have to give us one (used to justify England's controversial trip to Zimbabwe, for example). I hope it won't go a stage further to "you only gave us three tests so that's all we'll give you". But I can see a possibility of it happening. I'd like to hear what our Aussie contributors think of the schedule for summer 2005/6, especially the ODI/test balance/imbalance and the fact that there are a number of meaningless exhibition contests at the beginning of the season. West Indies are going through a rough patch and that cannot be denied, but they've been playing five test series against Australia for years and it's a shame to see it cut back this time around. (By the same token, the new tradition for England/West Indies series seems to be a reduced four match programme. We're on a slide, I fear, to a day when the test match is the rarity and second most important event of any international tour, behind 101 ODIs.)

[Zainub]

Should have been 5 tests against SA. At least 4, 3 against WI is ok. And about 5 ODIs fewer would have been better. I understand the Chappell - Hadlee series is now recognized by New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Australia is a must play annual thingy - but surely they could have made an exception for this year given Australia had to play the 'additional' super series this year. Really quite a strange schedule - and weren't they about to get rid of the VB Series - I remember vividly reading about that last winter. What happened to those ideas...?

[Maranello]

I fail to see any great issue here. How are these numbers different to any other year, eg the current season? Australia played two Tests against New Zealand (and three ODIs) and three Tests against Pakistan (plus the VB series, which had a potential 12 ODIs). This gives a summer total of five home Tests and 15 home ODIs (a ratio of 3:1).

In the coming summer, if I have understood OF's posts correctly, they propose to have seven Tests (yes, the RoW match is a Test, regardless of the eccentric views of a minority; the Wisden and the ICC views are the ones that matter) and 18 ODIs (a ratio of 2.6:1). So actually, they propose to increase the number of Tests by 40% but only increase the number of ODIs by 33%.

Seems sensible enough to me, and there isn't really a glaring imbalance that some of you are talking of. There can be as many as 36 days of Test cricket, and only 18 days of ODI cricket. Twice as much Test cricket as the pyjama stuff, and still some of us complain?

[Occasional Fan]

Thanks for posting those numbers, Maranello: I hadn't looked into the history. But I'll still complain! Way too much one day stuff. Nowhere near enough tests. May not be a new phenomenon this year based on what you are telling me, but that doesn't make it any more acceptable to me.

As far as the exhibition matches against the World XI are concerned, I know that some clown somewhere has determined that they should count as first class test and ODI fixtures, but I don't have to like it!! For me, tests are played between national sides over five days, not scratch teams over six. That's not to take away anyone's right to enjoy the event, of course - but we wouldn't expect FIFA to recognise a football match played between, say, England and The Rest over 108 minutes, so I'm not sure why the ICC recognises this particular sideshow.

Anyway, I've had my say: let's hear the Aussie viewpoint overnight.

[Zainub]

Ratio seems about alright ..but I too would still complain ...no 4 test series in a season in Australia ? How often do you get that? They should have played 4 against SA.

[Paoli]

6 tests is stock standard for the Australian summer; In the old days (up until about 3 years ago), however, it'd go 6,5,6,5. Six being the times when two teams would come out for three tests each, and the five for when England or the West Indies came out and got them on their own. Somewhat surprised to see only three tests against the West Indies, but lets be honest, the Frank Worrell trophy doesn't have the sting it used to have.

Last year we had only five, OF, so seven is uncharted ground for an Australian summer. I understand that is par for the English summer. As for the ODI's, last summer they cut the schedule down to six matches a side, seems they've reverted to eight a side. The West Indies came out last summer, hence they are only playing tests this summer.

[Leafy Seadragon]

Different "old days" for different ages I guess. When I were a lad, we got five tests a summer against the same team and a one-day match meant a test match with four days rained out (for a while I think this might have explained why one-day cricket took off in England - some chance of a result?). The Aussies would then get very drunk on a long plane flight, play numerous meaningless first class matches, which other than the first couple, primarily served to ensure that the 'squad' players didn't get the chance to become alcoholics through boredom and give the real players a chance to play golf. Oh, and the ABC would broadcast these on the radio, which admittedly had some appeal, smuggling the tranny (radio - not other interpretation) under the covers late at night

I'm not a huge fan of the increasing number of ODIs, but in general there's much more test cricket (the thought of sqeezing in a two or three match series was previously unthinkable), the Aussies play everyone more frequently and the cricket's on the tele more. I watch ODIs when I get a chance, so other than the loss of 5-test series (a very different proposition to 3-test series), I think test cricket's and I are overall winner

[Big Merv]

Yeah six tests is pretty normal here. One test at every major venue; The WACA, Gabba, Hobart, MCG, SCG and Adelaide. It's the same every year. Sometimes there are only five tests.