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Adelaide ready for consecutive Tests: Head

3 minute read

South Australia skipper Travis Head says his Adelaide Oval home ground is uniquely well equipped to produce pitches for back-to-back Tests.

TRAVIS HEAD of South Australia.
TRAVIS HEAD of South Australia. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

The Adelaide Oval is perfectly equipped to be Cricket Australia's safety net and ensure a lucrative series against India is staged this summer, according to Test vice-captain Travis Head.

Hope is growing that Virat Kohli's team will not only arrive for a much-anticipated Test series but play additional ODIs that would boost CA's revenue.

Nonetheless, uncertainty clouds the schedule and there is no obvious answer as to what level of COVID-19 restrictions will be required at the end of this year.

South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) chairman Andrew Sinclair and chief executive Keith Bradshaw have been pitching Adelaide Oval's credentials as a biosecurity bubble to CA.

The construction of an on-site hotel means India could fly into Adelaide and serve their quarantine period at the ground.

Adelaide Oval could also hypothetically host multiple matches given the likely absence of crowds and potential challenges of interstate travel, a ploy that would reduce broadcasters' costs.

Head believes his home ground is one of few that could handle the on-field issues associated with consecutive Tests.

"It'd be nice to stay at home for the whole summer," the SA skipper quipped.

"Adelaide Oval is such a good ground. It's unique ... if it comes down to that, I know that it will definitely be able to cope and withstand back-to-back Test matches.

"We've had instances where there'll be A-League games, rugby league or concerts going on. Houghy (curator Damian Hough) has been able to prepare a Shield wicket and drop it in the middle of the square, day of the game or two days out of the game.

"And you wouldn't even notice as a player."

Josh Hazlewood has already suggested Adelaide is comfortably the best pitch in Australia and the ideal oval if CA decides a Test-cricket bubble is required for all or part of the series.

The absence of AFL games at the iconic venue has hit the SACA's bottom line, partly prompting a wave of redundancies and stalling the search for a new men's coach.

"It is disappointing," Head said.

"I've had a lot of mates in SA hurt by that ... the people who work inside SACA are at times way more important than what we are."

Head, who has kept busy during running sessions with Alex Carey, will start official SA pre-season training later this month.

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