Australia's Boxing Day Test against England could have a crowd of more 80,000, a senior official said Sunday as Melbourne emerges from one of the world's most prolonged series of Covid lockdowns.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
How many spectators, if any, would be allowed into the cavernous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the third Ashes Test has long been up in the air.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But with the nation's second-biggest city re-opening on Friday after more than 260 days under lockdown since the pandemic began, Victoria state Premier Dan Andrews was hopeful it will be jam-packed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I want to see 80,000-plus people at the Boxing Day Test on day one, that's what I want to see," he told reporters in flagging a further planned easing of Covid restrictions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We are determined to deliver that. It won't be easy. I think selling the tickets will be pretty easy. But we are very confident that we will be able to deliver that."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The crowd for last summer's Boxing Day Test against India was capped at 30,000 per day due to the pandemic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The five-Test Ashes series will start in Brisbane on December 8 before moving to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and ending in Perth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Cricket Australia said in July that venues would be sold to full capacity, except the 100,000-seat MCG, given the city's battle against Covid-19.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Victoria state, in which Melbourne is situated, recorded almost 2,000 new cases and a further 11 deaths in the past 24 hours, but it is rapidly nearing an 80 percent vaccination rate when more freedoms have been promised.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Andrews' comments will encourage not only cricket fans but Australian Open organisers, with the first tennis Grand Slam of 2022 due to start on January 17 at Melbourne Park.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The tournament was hit hard this year with limited crowds and a five-day snap lockdown called mid-event.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But whether a full contingent of tennis stars will make the trip to Melbourne remains to be seen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Last week Andrews warned that unvaccinated players were unlikely to get visas, throwing defending champion Novak Djokovic's participation into serious doubt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n