Now greenies target the Boxing Day Test: Campaigners demand historic match is moved to protect players and fans from heat – but Cricket Australia refuses to budge
- Climate change will expose athletes to new levels of extreme heat, report found
- Study found a change to cooler months was needed to counter temperature rise
- Researchers alternatively proposed splitting Tests into mornings and evenings
- Report cited England’s Joe Root suffering from dehydration in 2018 Sydney test
- Cricket Australia said though they had no plans to change the date in near future
The Boxing Day Test should be moved from its traditional date to cooler months like November or March to protect players and fans from extreme heat, new research has claimed.
A report commissioned by the Australian Conservation Foundation argued the change was needed to counter a projected December temperature rise of up to 5.5C by the end of the century.
The study further claimed keeping the Test’s start date at December 26 would expose athletes and spectators to ‘unprecedented levels of extreme heat’.
Researchers have proposed moving the Boxing Day Test (Australia-New Zealand test pictured at the MCG on Thursday) to cooler months to combat climate change
Researchers proposed splitting Test matches into mornings and evenings or playing day/night fixtures as an alternative to moving the match itself.
The ACF called on Cricket Australia to make the change and show it was taking action on climate change.
By 2060, the report said, temperatures in the ‘shoulder months’ of November and March would reach the same heights as current-day December mercury levels.
‘Continuing to play the Boxing Day Test in its current format at the end of December will expose players and fans to unprecedented levels of extreme heat,’ researchers from Monash University’s Climate Change Communication Research Hub said.
‘If no effective climate mitigation is taken, consideration should be given to moving the Melbourne Test to the shoulder season.’
Citing England cricket captain Joe Root being taken to hospital with dehydration and gastroenteritis during the 2018 Sydney test, the report said modern heat management resources were not enough to protect players from the rising heat.
The proposal also recommended splitting Test matches into mornings and evenings or playing day/night fixtures
In response to the report, Cricket Australia said there were no plans to change the date of the Boxing Day Test in the near future.
The international fixture has only been a mainstay in the cricketing calendar since 1980, when the term became increasingly marketed by Kerry Packer’s Channel Nine to Australian audiences.
The tradition of Sheffield Shield matches between Victoria and New South Wales at the Melbourne Cricket Ground around Christmas though goes back to 1892.
They added though they were in the early stages of developing a sustainability strategy – although it is not clear what it would involve.
The report cited Joe Root being taken to hospital with dehydration and gastroenteritis during the 2018 Sydney test (pictured during the test)
‘The strategy is in the early stages of development and significant progress will be made to bring this to life in 2020,’ a spokesperson said.
‘Cricket Australia is committed to ensuring all Australians experience and enjoy cricket as the nation’s favourite sport long into the future.’
‘Cricket leads the industry on a number of fronts through best-practice and industry-leading initiatives in the building of new facilities around Australia and players who are subject to heat stress.’