No more tri-circus

The annual cricket circus in Australia is coming to an end. This year’s tri-series involving India and Sri Lanka besides Australia will be last of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Cricket Australia has decided to dispense with the tri-series from next year onwards.

It will, instead, host a bilateral five-match ODI series. Media reports say the tri-series, started about 29 seasons ago, has outlived its usefulness.

The reason for the change is reportedly over-dominance of Australia, poor attendance in tri-series contests involving two visiting teams and the emergence of T20 format. “I will not be sad for it,” Matthew Hayden was quoted as saying by a Melbourne daily.

The next year, England and New Zealand will visit here for five-match series each while the following year it will be Pakistan and the West Indies. But hang on, the tri-series is not yet given the burial. It is just kept in the cold storage.

If the head-to-clashes don’t excite them CA might revert to the tested tri-series, according to James Sutherland, the CEO of CA.