Cricket Australia is scrambling to find suitable content for Manuka Oval after erasing the capital from its international calendar, despite having a four-year deal to play in Canberra.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland has ruled out playing Big Bash League games in Canberra this summer, declaring the Twenty20 format was "not on the radar" until at least next season.
Fairfax Media understands the ACT government will not budge on its desire for high-level professional cricket with the BBL the No. 1 target after missing out on an international fixture.
Cricket Australia published its schedule on Tuesday for the 2017-18 summer boasting five Ashes Tests, a one-day international series and a Twenty20 series.
However, there was no room for an international in Canberra and the Prime Minister's XI was wedged at the end of the summer in similar circumstances to this season, with the match in danger of losing all relevance.
The government and Cricket Australia agreed to a four-year partnership to have Australia play at least one game in Canberra every season from 2015 to 2019.
After just two years, Cricket Australia informed government officials last month limited content in an Ashes summer would result in Canberra not getting a game next season.
The game was expected to be Australia v New Zealand and government officials were happy to work with Cricket Australia if alternative arrangements could be made.
Those arrangements are believed to be BBL games - the most popular domestic format - or extending the current deal to 2020. Canberra will host its first Test when Australia play Sri Lanka in the 2018-19 summer.
However, Sutherland told Fairfax Media rejigging the BBL and forcing teams to play in Canberra would be "difficult to implement".
He said Cricket Australia's focus for Canberra was international content and the onus would be on BBL clubs to move home fixtures to Manuka Oval.
"We've certainly been very aware of the success of the Big Bash League final a couple of years ago in Canberra and of the appetite for such content there," Sutherland said.
"But the possibility of actually delivering that is difficult to implement and something that will come in the consideration of teams."
The government is keen for "replacement content" and Chief Minister Andrew Barr is working with Cricket Australia after almost 20,000 fans watched one-dayers between Australia and New Zealand at Manuka Oval in the past two years.
Sutherland refused to speculate on what replacement international content would be, but a women's Ashes match looms as the most likely option.
A Chairman's XI game is also a possibility, but it would fail to attract the hype and attention of a Big Bash match.
"There's a whole lot we need to consider in terms of how it looks and how we make it work, but we'll just do that in time," Sutherland said.
"[We will] obviously do that in conjunction with the government so they understand what we're thinking about."
Tasmania will host a Twenty20 match against England, despite poor crowds attending international matches in Hobart. Tasmania takes precedence over Canberra because it is a member federation of Cricket Australia.
It leaves the PM's XI as the premier fixture on the Cricket ACT calendar next year, but it will be played just one day before the start of a Twenty20 tri-series between Australia, New Zealand and England.
The PM's XI has traditionally been used as a launching pad for players hoping to push into the Australian team, but the Friday-night clash against England on February 2 will have no bearing on international selection.
"Traditionally what's happened with the PM's XI against England, that's been far and away the largest PM's XI fixture," said Cricket ACT boss Cameron French.
"We would expect that to be a really really strong game regardless. Whilst it's later in the season, it's against traditionally our highest drawcard so we're comfortable with where that sits and particularly the opposition of course."
