Ashes in India? Cricket Australia is leaving the door open for a landmark 150th Test

Steve Smith, left, and Ben Stokes pose for a photograph with the Ashes Trophy (AP Photo) Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said the board would be open to exploring the possibility of staging the landmark 150th anniversary Ashes Test in India, highlighting the growing importance of the Indian market to world cricket. Australia and England are set to play a one-off Test next March to commemorate 150 years of the historic Ashes rivalry. While there are currently no plans to take the match outside of Australia, Greenberg admitted that holding it in India could be considered in the future. His comments come as Cricket Australia expands its footprint in India. This December, the Big Bash League will host a match in Chennai where the Melbourne Renegades will take on the Perth Scorchers, marking another step towards bringing Australian cricket closer to Indian fans. The prospect of an Ashes Test in India also reflects the commercial importance of the country’s cricket market. India remains the sport’s largest audience and hosting a booth competition between Australia and England would generate huge interest as well as create new commercial opportunities. Greenberg said Cricket Australia was not ruling out the idea, citing its strong links with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). “We would have to be open to consider all options,” Greenberg said on the BBC’s Stumped podcast. “Our relationship with the ECB, but also with the BCCI, is very strong. And clearly there are opportunities in India to put more content in certain areas. It’s not something we’re currently planning, but it would certainly be open to consideration.” India’s influence on the global cricket economy has continued to grow in recent years. For example, the ECB is expected to report significant profits from the eight white-ball internationals it recently hosted against India, despite England winning six of those matches. The financial returns are expected to exceed what the board expects from the launch of both the men’s and women’s Ashes series next year. Despite his openness to the proposal, Greenberg acknowledged that scheduling a five-day Ashes Test in India would be far from straightforward. The Indian calendar is already packed with international cricket and the IPL is set to start earlier than usual next year to avoid extreme heat at the end of May. Finding a suitable window for the next marquee event would therefore be a big challenge. “I think Test cricket between us, England and India, is still very strong, probably bucking the trend in other parts of the world. So we want to make sure we continue to develop and strengthen it.” “The challenge for all of us in global cricket is that the schedule is only 365 days and we will probably need another month or two if we can actually produce the content that we want,” he said.