No Adele cricket wicket worries for Gabba from AFL grand final

Queensland Cricket has assured fans the Gabba wicket will not be affected by the AFL grand final on October 24 and the start of 2020’s touring cricket matches will not be delayed.

“There are no concerns on that front,” a senior Queensland Cricket spokesman said.

“We are very confident in curator Dave Sandurski and his team and their ability to get the ground ready after the grand final.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at the announcement that the Gabba would host the AFL grand final.Credit:Getty

Mr Sandurski moved up from Victoria to take up the Gabba job in 2018 to replace retiring curator Kevin Mitchell jnr.

The Gabba has an in-situ cricket wicket – regarded by some as Australia’s best - while the Melbourne Cricket Ground has had drop-in wickets, grown in trays, for years.

Callers on Melbourne talkback radio on Wednesday questioned whether holding the AFL grand final at the Gabba would interfere with cricket at the ground.

Darcy Moore of the Magpies gets a handball away during the round 17 AFL match between the Collingwood Magpies and the Gold Coast Suns at the Gabba on September 14.Credit:Getty Images/Glenn Hunt

Queensland Cricket said it was preparing the Gabba to host the First Test against India from December 3, even though the game was not confirmed.

“There’s plenty of time to get the ground in good condition,” the spokesman said.

The spokesman said Mr Sandurski was very familiar with getting both the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Gabba ready after an AFL season.

The ground curators were conscious of allowing the summer couch grass to begin to grow through the winter rye grass after the final AFL round, the spokesman said.

“Put it this way, if they can manage to get the 'G [the MCG] recovered and ready in Melbourne after a normal grand final, they won’t have problems here at the Gabba," he said.

“The grass grows pretty well here at the Gabba.”

In March 2017 the Brisbane Lions AFLW team had to shift its grand final to the Gold Coast’s Metricon Stadium after a large crowd was allowed to sit on the cricket oval for Adele’s concert earlier that month.

Metricon Stadium, home of the Gold Coast Suns was set to get drop-in cricket wickets, the Queensland Cricket spokesman said.

Adele performs at the Gabba in March 2017.Credit:Getty Images/Glenn Hunt

Metricon Stadium is set to host some Big Bash League cricket matches after the AFL season finishes and planning is now underway to add the drop-in wickets.

The first international cricketers have begun to arrive – and been isolated in quarantine – in Brisbane for the first international cricket of the 2020 summer.

The New Zealand women’s cricket team plays Australia in a six-game Trans-Tasman series at the Allan Border Field at Albion from next week.

The teams play three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals.

License this article

Most Viewed in National

New Delhi:India’s COVID-19 tally of cases galloped past 50 lakh,just 11 days after it crossed 40 lakh, with90,123infections being reported in a day, while recoveries surged to39,42,360on Wednesday, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The totalcoronavirus cases mounted to 50,20,359, while the deathtoll climbed to82,066witha record 1,290people succumbing to the disease ina span of 24 hours,the data updated at 8 am showed.

India’s COVID-19 cases jumped from 10 lakh to 20 lakh in 21 days. Then it took 16 more days torace past 30 lakh, 13 days more to cross the 40-lakh mark and 11 days to go past 50 lakh. It took 110days for the COVID-19 cases in the country to reach onelakhwhile it had taken 59 days moreto go past the10-lakhpost.

The COVID-19casefatality rate due to the coronavirus infection further dropped at 1.63 per cent. There are9,95,933active cases of COVID-19 in the country which comprises 19.84 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

According to the ICMR, acumulative total of 5,94,29,115 samples have been tested up to September 15 with 11,16,842 samples being tested on Tuesday. A total of 1,290 new deaths have been reported including 515 fromMaharashtra, 216 from Karnataka,113 from Uttar Pradesh,90 from Punjab,69fromAndhra Pradesh, 68 from Tamil Nadu , 59 from West Bengal and 36 from Delhi.

A total of 82,066deaths have been reported so far in the country includes 30,409 from Maharashtra followed by 8,502 from Tamil Nadu, 7,481 from Karnataka, 5,041 from Andhra Pradesh, 4,806 from Delhi, 4,604 from Uttar Pradesh, 4,062 from West Bengal, 3,244 from Gujarat, 2,514 from Punjab and 1,820 from Madhya Pradesh. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

No Adele cricket wicket worries for Gabba from AFL grand final

No Adele cricket wicket worries for Gabba from AFL grand final

Tony Moore

Most Viewed in National

No Adele cricket wicket worries for Gabba from AFL grand final

SMIC Asks for US Approval to Continue Supplying Huawei: Report

SMIC reiterated that it will abide by relevant laws and regulations in all countries and regions.

Related Stories

No Adele cricket wicket worries for Gabba from AFL grand final

INDIA

In 11 Days, COVID-19 Cases In India Cross 50-lakh Mark From 40 Lakh

LIVE TV

Recommended For You

Photogallery