Australia’s players will be forced to attend an event in Melbourne despite losing the fourth Ashes test against England.
Despite England’s time in Australia being utterly embarrassing both on and off the field, finally, after 15-long years, the Barmy Army could celebrate a Test match victory against the hosts in their own backyard.
When Harry Brook hit the winning runs to end an 18-match winless streak in Australia, the relief was etched across captain Ben Stokes’ face as his England side had avoided the 5-0 whitewash predicted by Glenn McGrath and further questions about his side’s character.
Meanwhile, head coach Brendon McCullum likely slept a lot better knowing he had also avoided the dreaded 5-0, which looked ominous following defeats in Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide.
Advert
As for Australia, despite winning the series and already retaining the urn, they too will be wondering how they lost the chaotic Test in just two days of play.
And as a result, the short contest means Australian cricket could lose around Aus $10m (£5m) in ticket refunds - for those who had bought passes for days three, four, and five - while there was a huge number of lost sales in merchandise, food, and drinks.
“The finances aren’t great, and I think it was a sell-out tomorrow,” said stand-in Australia captain Steve Smith when discussing the impact of the two-day Test.
A 90,000 sell-out crowd was expected on day three, but thousands of fans will now have to wait until the 2029/2030 Ashes to catch a glimpse of Australia vs England in the iconic Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
But despite the players likely expecting a few days off to recover ahead of the fifth and final test in Sydney, which is set to commence on January 4, Australia will attend a meet and greet with the fans at the MCG fan zone on December 28.
A post from Cricket Australia read: “Melbourne: Come meet your #Ashes heroes!
“Despite the shortened Boxing Day Test, the Aussie men's team looks forward to the opportunity to meet as many fans as possible tomorrow at the @MCG fan zone.”
Several cricket fans were quick to react to the event’s announcement on social media, but not everyone agrees with it.
One said: “Does that void your refund?? Play a one-dayer or something.”
Another added: “People want cricket, not this. What a rip-off.”
A third claimed: “To make it up for the lost days of play. I reckon that's fair.”
While a fourth commented: “Should have enough time to sign an individual autograph to the 90,000+ people that turn up to get their refund.”
As a fifth exclaimed: “They should be playing test cricket.”
Luke Davies