IND vs AUS: SCG Capacity Reduced to 25 Per Cent For 3rd Test Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

IND vs AUS: Cricket Australia has reduced the number of spectators allowed in the third Test between Australia and India. New South Wales government came with the decision in the view of increasing COVID-19 cases in Sydney.

Now the capacity of the Sydney Cricket Ground is reduced to just 25% of its actual capacity, i.e. 9500-10000 spectators. A sudden spike in coronavirus cases in Sydney forced Cricket Australia to come with this decision.

“In response to the public health situation in NSW, we are working closely with Venues NSW and NSW Health to put appropriate biosecurity measures in place for our staff, players, match officials, broadcasters and fans to ensure we play the third Test at the SCG safely.

“Reducing the capacity of the venue is crucial in achieving social distancing requirements, and we sincerely thank ticketholders for their patience, as we process refunds today, reconfigure the SCG seating plan to deliver these social distancing measures and go back on sale,” CA interim Chief Executive Officer Nick Hockley said.

Cricket Australia will give the full refund to all those who already brought the tickets of the third Test match, including associated and insurance costs.

“Tickets will be back on sale exclusively to those who have already bought a seat at 5 pm AEDT on January 4, with remaining tickets released at midday AEDT on January 5.

“To date, we have been able to deliver a safe and successful summer of cricket thanks to our detailed bio-security protocols, the cooperation and support of public health officials and the hard work of so many people behind the scenes, ” Hockley added.

The Sydney Cricket Ground hosted 2 ODIs and first 2 T20I between Australia and India in which 18000 spectators were permitted.

The third Test between Australia and India will start from January 7 at SCG. Both the teams are scheduled to reach Sydney on December 31 but due to Corona outbreak both the teams stayed back in Melbourne.

The 4 match Test series currently stand level at 1-1 after India defeated Australia in the Boxing Day Test.