Thaindian News

Sydney, Feb 2 (IANS) Historic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is facing serious threat of losing out on international cricket.
It may may lose out next summer’s first One-day international to ANZ Stadium, reported The Australian Tuesday.

The move has apparently been approved by Cricket New South Wales and will be put to the board of Cricket Australia (CA).

“The proposed radical rescheduling follows a bitter tussle between the two stadia over the rights to host cricket in the state. Cricket NSW chief executive officer Dave Gilbert had even refused to rule out shifting Test matches to the stadium although the notion seems far fetched,” the report said.

NSW is scheduled for two one-day internationals next summer with England and Sri Lanka playing against Australia.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently approved the ANZ Stadium as an official One-day venue but admitted the field area was too small under its own guidelines.

ANZ has hosted huge crowds during the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, but its opponents point out that large numbers of tickets to the matches were given away free while standard seating is cheap.

CA is keen to boost the perception that the Big Bash is a popular product in anticipation of a bidding war between broadcasters after the most recent series gained record ratings for Fox Sports. The Australia vs Pakistan ODIs attracted more than 30,000 people.

There are no Twenty20 internationals planned for the city but the Olympic Stadium will be keen to secure the next of those matches scheduled for Sydney.

It is understood that ANZ Stadium proposed to host an annual international Twenty20 match but in the absence of that would settle for a one-day international.