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Following October\u2019s Test tour of South Africa, Australia will host New Zealand for four matches before travelling to India before a blockbuster Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign. Then, after a 150th anniversary Test against England at the MCG, Pat Cummins\u2019 men head to the United Kingdom for an Ashes series and potentially a World Test Championship final at Lord\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The only break during this frantic 12-month window is from April-May next year, when several of Australia\u2019s high-profile players are expected to participate in the IPL.<\/p>\n
During a busy 2023 season, which also included Test tours of India and England, Cummins and Mitchell Starc made the \u201cdifficult\u201d decision to skip the IPL due to the packed international schedule, forgoing millions to ensure they were adequately prepared for the UK tour.<\/p>\n
The sacrifice paid dividends when Australia retained the coveted urn and returned home with the World Test Championship mace; Cummins played all six matches during the winter tour, while Starc was the leading wicket-taker of the Ashes, receiving the Compton-Miller Medal.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s ageing fast bowlers, including Josh Hazlewood, will be faced with the same dilemma ahead of next year\u2019s IPL, which could conclude just days before the 2027 World Test Championship final. All-rounder Cameron Green, currently on a $4.17 million contract with the Kolkata Knights Riders, could be in a similar boat.<\/p>\n
The quartet collectively earns approximately $11 million each year participating in the IPL.<\/p>\n
England\u2019s cricketers faced heavy scrutiny last summer for their inadequate preparation ahead of the Ashes campaign, and Australia could also find themselves on the receiving end of similar backlash next year, especially if they start the series poorly.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hazlewood was sidelined for the 2023 World Test Championship final due to an injury that flared up during his IPL stint; the veteran seamer also missed the entirety of last summer\u2019s Ashes and the recent T20 World Cup campaign due to similar setbacks.<\/p>\n
Australia has not won an Ashes series in England since 2001.<\/p>\n
Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland. Picture: SuppliedSource: Supplied<\/p>\n
Asked whether he believed the likes of Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins would be willing to skip the IPL to aid their Ashes preparation, McDonald declared he had \u201cfull trust\u201d in his experienced players to make the right decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been through it before,\u201d McDonald recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something that we\u2019ve done before, so we understand what we\u2019re about to go through.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019ll be some different management strategies. We\u2019ve seen over time how fast bowlers, if we want to talk about them specifically, have made some really good decisions and choices around IPL across the journey because of their appetite and want to play for Australia and perform for Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDonald pointed out that Starc chose to miss the first few matches of this year\u2019s IPL to recover from elbow and shoulder injuries he sustained during the home summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve made the decision before. They know what\u2019s ahead,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look at the decisions around Starcy, he had a late entry into the IPL. He was looking after his body, making sure it was 100 per cent right. He had a few small issues and made the decision to get himself right.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I trust them to do that, and that\u2019s based upon all the calls they\u2019ve made historically.\u201d<\/p>\n
The growing number of franchise leagues across the calendar has created headaches for many Test-playing nations, with Cricket Australia starting to feel the squeeze as players are forced to sacrifice significant earnings for national duties.<\/p>\n
Several first-choice players are expected to miss this week\u2019s ODI tour of Pakistan due to the IPL finals, including Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis, while Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood are missing the series to manage their workloads.<\/p>\n
Last year, it was reported that an IPL team group offered Cummins and Head around $10 million to forgo international duties and take up franchise cricket full-time, which the Australian duo rejected.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, England speedster Jofra Archer is set to miss the upcoming Test series opener against New Zealand due to IPL commitments, which would have been unfathomable a generation ago.<\/p>\n
Head coach Andrew McDonald of Australia talks with Steve Smith. Photo by Robert Cianflone\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
McDonald confessed it would be reckless to ignore the looming threat of T20 cricket.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe franchise risk is real, players have options,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s some interesting conversations for administrators worldwide, the ICC and all the boards, but from an Australian point of view, I think Test cricket is healthy. Our players want to play Test cricket.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019d probably say the same for India as well, which is really important for the game, that they have an appetite to play Test cricket. But the franchise landscape, it\u2019s real, and for people to say that it\u2019s not real, they need to open their eyes a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, McDonald clarified that he believed Test cricket in Australia was in a \u201chealthy\u201d state despite the current landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like Test cricket\u2019s back in the players\u2019 minds,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be tested in the next couple of summers, potentially, in terms of the appetite for Test cricket, but recency bias suggests that Test cricket\u2019s alive and well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, reports emerged of unrest among Australia\u2019s leading cricketers<\/a> regarding the national contracts, with five senior players pushing back against deals offered to them. After multiple states rejected CA\u2019s plan for Big Bash League privatisation, there is also a growing risk that Australia\u2019s best cricketers will boycott the BBL to pursue bigger paycheques from South Africa\u2019s SA20 and the United Arab Emirates\u2019 ILT20.<\/p>\n CA chief executive Todd Greenberg and chief selector George Bailey both downplayed the situation while speaking to media earlier this month, while McDonald confessed the current contract system might need alteration.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard Todd the other day discussing how we\u2019ve got an outdated model at the moment,\u201d McDonald said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe game has changed a lot in recent times and will change at that speed in the next couple of coming years. It potentially needs some alterations to deal with the current landscape of international and franchise cricket.<\/p>\n \u201cDid we think we\u2019d get here this quick? Potentially not, but other countries have had to go through this as well, so this isn\u2019t something that\u2019s unique to Australian cricket. This has been an issue for the game over a period of time. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been challenged by franchises around that, and good on them as well. That\u2019s their right. That\u2019s our challenge, it\u2019s a good challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cI think our environment is good. People want to play here at the moment, but I think we are getting stretched in all honesty at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n BBL lines up India opening match | 00:50<\/p>\n McDonald also confirmed that Australia had already started planning for next year\u2019s Ashes, clarifying that preparation was dependent on the team\u2019s World Test Championship final qualification.<\/p>\n The Victorian explained that practice matches can be beneficial for players who have never travelled to foreign countries before, but asserted they weren\u2019t essential for team success. For example, he acknowledged that Australia has a practice match scheduled during the tour of South Africa, where the nation hasn\u2019t played a Test match in eight years.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone critiques preparation, and rightfully so, because that is the art of getting a team ready for any five-Test series,\u201d McDonald said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a really experienced group and sometimes we\u2019ve backed off on preparation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe in practice games at the right time. You may see a little bit more of that happening from time to time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018That\u2019s no excuse\u2019: Coach\u2019s blunt verdict on under-pressure Aussie after horror summer<\/p>\n