Australia vice captain Travis Head backed yesterday the idea of playing the entire Test series against India in a ‘bio-secure’ Adelaide Oval to ensure the lucrative fixture goes ahead later this year. Cricket Australia (CA) is banking heavily on the series, reportedly worth A$300mn ($195mn) in revenue, to help it cope with a financial crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has pitched Adelaide Oval as a Test hub for the series which might end up being played behind closed doors and at a single venue because of travel and other restrictions forced by the pandemic. Head said his home ground, where an on-site hotel was being constructed, could handle the pressure of hosting consecutive matches. “If it comes down to that, I know that it will definitely be able to cope and withstand back-to-back test matches,” said the South Australia skipper.
“We’ve had instances where there’ll be A-League games, rugby league or concerts going on and... the (curator) has been able to prepare a wicket and drop it in the middle of the square, day of the game or two days out of the game. And you wouldn’t even notice as a player.”
The Indian cricket board has said the tourists would be ready to spend two weeks in quarantine in Australia if that helped the tour go ahead as planned. The teams are scheduled to play four tests and three one-day internationals in December and January but efforts are on to squeeze in a fifth test or a couple of extra limited-overs matches.
Tendulkar settles lawsuit with Australian bat-maker
Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar has settled his lawsuit with Spartan Sports International, having earlier accused the Australian bat manufacturer of failing to pay him $2mn in royalties.
The 47-year-old Tendulkar said in a civil lawsuit filed last year that Spartan had agreed to pay him at least $1mn a year to use his image, logo and promotional services but failed to make a single payment owed since 2016.
“Spartan sincerely apologises to Mr Tendulkar for its failure to honour his sponsorship agreement and is grateful for Mr Tendulkar’s patience in resolving this dispute,” its director Les Galbraith said in a joint statement issued by the parties yesterday. Spartan said the batting great has had no association with them since September 2018 and also cancelled the trademark it had registered featuring Tendulkar’s silhouette playing a cricket stroke.
Tendulkar quit international cricket in 2013 as its most prolific scorer, having amassed a record 34,000-plus runs including an unprecedented 100 centuries.
from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/2X0Jrra
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