CSA request ICC to intervene after Cricket Australia cancel three-Test series in eleventh hour
Cricket South Africa (CSA) have written to the ICC asking them to consider means of redress for less wealthy nations to make up for financial losses on the back of CA’s decision to indefinitely postpone a three-Test series. CA’s decision is set to cost CSA losses up to millions of Rands.
When Australia announced an extended red-ball squad for the three-Test series versus South Africa, it looked like the tour was all set to go ahead but Cricket Australia (CA) dropped a bombshell a week later, announcing that they were not going to send players to South Africa owing to Covid fears. CA’s decision to pull out in the eleventh hour infuriated Cricket South Africa (CSA), who’d met all the demands of the Australian board, so much so that Director Graeme Smith let out a public stream of invective to condemn the actions of the Aussies.
CA’s decision to pull out is set to have huge financial ramifications for CSA and in the wake of the same, the South African board have written to the ICC asking to intervene. CSA have written to the ICC asking the council to consider means of redress for less wealthy nations to make up for financial losses when tours do not take place as scheduled, with them in line to lose millions of Rands.
"There's got to be some understanding of how we manage the impact to less-wealthy nations," Stavros Nicolaou, the chairman of CSA's interim board told ESPNcricinfo, confirming that the board had made the ICC aware of the issue.
"Unilateral decisions of this nature are punitive to less-wealthy cricket-playing nations and there has to be some discussion around redress."
Touring teams cancelling tours is an occurrence not too uncommon, but it is CA’s timing and betrayal that has left CSA fuming. CSA, as requested by CA, had agreed to enforce the strictest of strict measures with respect to quarantining and bio-bubbles and had also obtained government permission for Australia to receive VVIP treatment at the airport. Nicolaou argued that the reasons cited by CA seemed “out of kilter with where the pandemic is” and further claimed that CSA would have been fine by the cancellation had the communication come back in December.
"The reasons Australia cited seemed out of kilter with where the pandemic is. If we had got this communication from them in December it might be justified. The downward trajectory, even with the so-called South African strain, has shown a 75% reduction from the peak.
“Our preference would have been to ask for a consultation and we would have got the necessary experts on the call and explained the downward trajectory and we could have given assurances about the biosecure base. The decision should have been consultative and we would have seen what other measures we could have taken."
Apart from notifying the ICC, ESPN Cricinfo also reported that CSA have also written to their CA counterparts, underlining the loss of revenue they will incur owing to the ‘unfortunate’ decision taken by CA to postpone the tour.
Australia’s decision to pull out of the South Africa tour has put their hopes of qualifying for the WTC Final in jeopardy, with them now dependent on the result of the ongoing four-Test series between India and England.