Cricket Australia is confident that the likely involvement of three Test players in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in late October will not compromise their preparation for the Test series against South Africa.
CA released its domestic fixture
for the 2012-13 season, which included the Sheffield Shield starting on
September 18, three weeks earlier than last season.
Most states will play four matches
by the first week of November, which will give most players ample
opportunity to press for selection for the first Test of the summer, on
November 9 against the Proteas in Brisbane, The Sydney Morning Herald
reports.
While bowlers Peter Siddle and James Pattinson are set to play up to four shield matches, Shane Watson, Mike Hussey and Pat Cummins could be restricted to a single match due to their expected involvement in the Champions League and the preceding World Twenty20 tournament.
Two years ago, Hussey and paceman
Doug Bollinger arrived late for a Test series in India because they were
instructed to remain in South Africa for the finals of the Champions League. Bollinger was subsequently injured.
CA's general manager of team
performance, Pat Howard, said he was aware of the tournament overlap and
was negotiating with Australia's two Champions League teams, Sydney
Sixers and Perth Scorchers, to develop a plan for the affected players.
South Africa is also not immune to
the effects of the fixture overlap. Test players Hashim Amla, Morne
Morkel, Alviro Petersen, Imran Tahir and J.P. Duminy are likely to be
playing Twenty20 just over a week before the Test series.
No comments:
Post a Comment