Cricket Australia Chief Floats Idea Of England Test In India

Cricket Australia Chief Floats Idea Of England Test In India (Image Source: AFP)

Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg is open to the possibility of staging a Test against England in India.

The three nations represent cricket's 'Big Three' -- the sport's most powerful nations -- but India are the financial powerhouse of the global game, fuelled by the mass enthusiasm for the sport in the world's most populous country.

Any Australia-England fixture in India would need the backing of both the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

"It's not something that we are planning, but it's open for consideration," Greenberg told the BBC in comments published Thursday. "We'd have to be open to considering all options.

"Our relationship with the ECB and the BCCI is very strong and clearly there are opportunities in India to put more content in certain areas."

Australia and England played the first Test in cricket history in Melbourne in 1877 and next year they will meet at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for a one-off pink-ball fixture to mark the 150th anniversary of that inaugural clash.

Several former players are understood to have voiced concerns that the showpiece match will be a pink-ball affair but Greenberg said it was not his job "to be popular".

"We wanted to get as many people for the game as possible," he said. "Playing that game in the day while people are at work and school would've made that difficult.

"Clearly there's a commercial imperative with broadcast rights back in the UK and the time zone. Pink-ball Tests for us are hugely advantageous in terms of audience.

"It will anger some of the traditionalists but we're in the business of getting more eyeballs on our game."

But Greenberg said Cricket Australia were trying to strike a balance between celebrating a significant landmark in Test history and ensuring the longer format attracts new spectators.

"We're trying to balance celebrating 150 years of Test cricket between our two countries but also have an eye on the future and how we can evolve the sport," he added.