Published 16:56 IST, October 14th 2020
Justin Langer upset with the idea of fielding two Australian teams on the same day
Australia coach Justin Langer expresses his disappointment over the prospect of having two Australian teams taking the field on the same day in different venues
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The Australian cricket team is set to tour South Africa for a three-match Test series in February 2021, which will form a part of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship. Interestingly, the high-profile tour will coincide with the Australian team playing a set of five T20Is in New Zealand around the same time. The twin tours would mean two separate Australian teams would be playing in separate countries at the same time, as Cricket Australia tries to recuperate their earlier loss of international cricketing schedule due to the pandemic.
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Justin Langer opposes Cricket Australia’s idea of two separate teams taking the field on the same day
While speaking with SEN, Australian head coach Justin Langer revealed that he is not a fan of the idea of having two separate Australian teams playing international cricket at the same time in two different countries. The cricketer-turned-coach said that he has already expressed his opinion about the impending schedule with top Cricket Australia officials like chairman Earl Eddings and interim CEO Nick Hockley.
Justin Langer further made his mind clear by adding that he never wanted to have “two Australian teams in one place”, despite previously taking charge of their T20 team in 2017, when the seniors toured India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The former Australian opening batsman said: “We're one country, aren't we? We're not two countries. And we're one sport.”
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Justin Langer also feared that the prospects of the two teams will impact the second half of the ongoing Marsh Sheffield Shield season. The ongoing Sheffield Shield season launched on October 10 with a Round 1 match between Western Australia and South Australia. Around 31 matches will be played in Marsh Sheffield Shield 2020-21 and it is expected to run till March next year.
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Justin Langer opines about Australia’s simultaneous 2021 tours to New Zealand, South Africa
BCCI, Cricket Australia agree on India vs Australia 2020 series
Earlier this year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia agreed to proceed with the India vs Australia 2020 Test series as originally planned. The high-profile series will begin at the Adelaide Oval on December 17 with a Day-Night Test match. The four-match Test series will then conclude with the Gabba Test between January 15 and 19.
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The much-awaited India vs Australia 2020 series is expected to generate a huge amount of profit for Cricket Australia after the board had to deal with financial losses this year due to the pandemic.
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Image source: cricket.com.au
16:56 IST, October 14th 2020