“It doesn’t make any sense to us”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Australia opener David Warner has voiced his displeasure towards the summer scheduling since a Twenty20 International against Sri Lanka will be held just a day before the Test tour of India begins on February 23.
The players in the Test team will be forced to miss the three-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, which starts on February 17, as they will be heading to Dubai to practice on the turning pitches at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Academy two weeks prior to the four-Test series in India.
With that being the case, many high-profile players, including Warner, captain Steven Smith and seamers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, will not be available for selection for the Twenty20 series.
“Scheduling is obviously Cricket Australia’s area,” Warner told Fox Sports. “They play the big role in putting that on. For me, it’s about going out there and playing the game and not worrying too much about that. In saying that, it is very, very poor scheduling. To have your Test team going away to play a Test match… it doesn’t make any sense to us.”
The 30-year-old added that he and the rest of his team-mates should be featuring in matches in all formats, especially as the next edition of the World Twenty20, a tournament which Australia have never won, is scheduled to be held in 2018.
“I don’t like it. Those of us who are part of the T20 team have a bigger goal and bigger picture, and that is to win a World Cup,” Warner said. “You want to be putting your best team on the park all the time. At the end of the day, you’ve got Big Bash and IPL.
“If me, Smithy, Starcy, Ussy, Shaun Marsh — all these guys that are in the Australian T20 team from the previous World Cup — if we are not playing any T20 cricket in Australia where the next World Cup is meant to be, it becomes quite a tough thing for selectors to work around.
“We have one-day stuff where you can put your foot down and prove some things, but for me it’s about playing my best in any of the three formats that you play.”
It will be interesting to see Australia’s picks for the matches that clash. For the T20s: Tim Paine, Aaron Finch, Daniel Hughes, Ashton Turner, Rob Quiney, Sean Abbott and Ben Dwarshuis to throw just a few names into the ring.
Pat Cummins and Chris Lynn too.