Cricket Australia has suspended all international and domestic cricket matches in the country, due to a lack of government funding.
Australia’s national cricket team has been forced to cancel its tour of India, due to a lack of government funding. Cricket Australia (CA) announced on October 27th that it had suspended all international and domestic matches in the country, citing a failure by the Australian government to provide adequate funding for cricket. The announcement came after CA revealed that it was unable to find sponsors for the upcoming men’s and women’s Test series against India. The Australian team had been scheduled to depart for India on November 2nd.
What is Cricket Australia?
Cricket Australia (CA) is responsible for governing and developing cricket in the country. CA manages various aspects of Australian cricket, including selecting players for international games, running various competitions such as the Sheffield Shield and WNCL, setting playing conditions such as pitch sizes and timings, as well as providing support staff for national teams.
What happened with Cricket Australia?
In September 2020, CA had warned that it might be forced to cancel upcoming tours if it did not receive any funding from the federal government. At that time, CA chief executive Kevin Roberts said: “We have been very vocal about our concerns about growing costs across our game at all levels … This includes state associations’ costs which are rising at an alarming rate.” A $1 million grant from Cricket Australia was also withdrawn from Victoria State Cricket Association after its board was sacked following an internal dispute over financial management.
On October 25th,CA announced that they would not be able to afford hosting India’s tour this month due to a lack of federal funding. On October 26th however they cancelled their own tour because they didn’t have enough money left over after covering losses incurred during other tours.
The decision comes after India refused to play the series, stating that “the current environment surrounding bilateral cricket is not conducive”.
