Cricket Australia CEO Projects Massive Loss After MCG Test Set To Finish Early

Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg admitted that a potential early finish to the Boxing Day Test could lead to heavy financial losses.

Cricket Australia (CA) is staring at another significant financial setback after a dramatic Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) threatened to finish well inside the scheduled five days.

Despite a record crowd of 94,199 on the opening day and a complete sell-out on day two, the contest between Australia and England saw 20 wickets tumble in a single day, raising concerns over the commercial viability of such short Tests.

CA had hoped strong pre-sales and unprecedented Ashes demand would help smash attendance records across the match, even though the series result was already decided. However, following a two-day Test in Perth that reportedly cost the board close to AUD 5 million, the possibility of another early finish at the MCG has placed the governing body under renewed financial pressure.

Speaking on SEN ahead of day two, CA CEO Todd Greenberg was asked whether a 20-wicket day was excessive.

“The short answer for that in my opinion is yes,” Greenberg said. “As mesmerising and fascinating and enjoyable as it was to watch as a fan, we want Test cricket clearly to go for longer.

“A simple phrase I’d use is short Tests are bad for business. I can’t be much more blunt than that. So I would like to see a slightly broader balance between the bat and the ball. I thought yesterday slightly favoured the ball. The batters have some ownership in some of that, it’s not all around the pitch, but we’ve got some challenges.”

CEO Takes A Look At The MCG Pitch

The MCG pitch came under heavy scrutiny after several former players-turned-pundits criticised it for offering excessive assistance to seam bowlers. With questions raised about whether CA might step in more actively on pitch preparation, Greenberg addressed the issue cautiously.

“Historically we have taken a hands-off approach in all of our wicket preparation and allowed the staff and the conditions and those characteristics to be presented,” Greenberg said. “But it’s hard not to get more involved when you see the impact on the sport, particularly commercially.

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“I’m not suggesting we’re going to go around talking to groundstaff, but we do have to have a careful eye on what our expectations are over the course of a summer.”

The financial implications come at a challenging time for CA, which has already implemented internal cost-cutting measures, including administrative redundancies, while also exploring private investment options for the Big Bash League within the next year. Another multi-million dollar loss from this Test would be particularly ill-timed.

“I didn’t sleep well last night, put it that way,” Greenberg said. “It was an amazing day of Test cricket, so for that record number of people who were here, boy, they’ve had an experience. But our challenge is to make sure we can continue those experiences day after day. That’s the challenge for all of us.”