MCG on standby to replace SCG as the venue for the third Border-Gavaskar Test match

Cricket Australia has decided to place the Melbourne Cricket ground on standby as a replacement if the COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney leads to SCG being deemed unfit to host the Third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar series. A final call on the matter is expected to be taken during the boxing day Test. GABBA in Brisbane meanwhile is expected to retain hosting rights of the 4th and final Test match of the series, Cricket Australia has announced through a statement.

“We have always maintained that scheduling a full summer of cricket during a global pandemic would require agility, problem-solving, and teamwork like never before," Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley said in a statement. “We continue to place the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved as our number one priority.”

"The record testing numbers and the drop in new community transmissions in NSW have provided cause for optimism, however, if the situation in Sydney deteriorates, we have strong contingency plans in place,” Hockley said. 

The Sydney Cricket Ground hosting the third Test match would further complicate the logistics on tour, as the State of Queensland has shut its borders to anyone traveling in from the Greater Sydney area. However, the Interim CEO of Cricket Australia Nick Hockley reassured that the board was "working constructively" with the Queensland Government to secure the necessary travel exemptions to allow key personnel to travel into the state when required.