Australia vs India 2014-15: No pressure on players to play first Test - CA chief executive James Sutherland
Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive James Sutherland has insisted that it is completely up to each individual to decide whether they want to participate in the first Test, which begins in Adelaide on December 9. Phillip Hughes passed away last week after being hit by a bouncer off the bowling of Sean Abbott, and his funeral will be taking place in his hometown of Macksville, New South Wales, tomorrow.
A lot of the Australian players were extremely close to Hughes, and it is going to be incredibly hard for them to recover emotionally from the goings-on of last week.
"Absolutely up to the individual," Sutherland said. "Any player that is not comfortable or doesn't feel right, or there is medical advice to suggest that they're not quite right, then we will obviously understand that and I'm sure the broader public will understand that as well.
"Right now, there's a funeral tomorrow and let's understand that's going to be difficult enough as it is. There'll be a great temptation for people to speculate about who's going to play and how they're feeling. I'd just encourage everyone to give the players their space and let them in their own way work through that.
"Understand that we and the ACA will be supporting them, and no one will think ill of anyone who feels uncomfortable about it. Test cricket is a different game. It's not just going out there and playing a game of sport for a couple of hours. You need to go out there and commit to five days. You need to front up day after day after day. It's a big step and it's not just an ordinary sporting match."
CA have been compelled to come up with a cramped revised schedule where the Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne Test matches will be played almost back-to-back, with there being a relatively long break only before the Sydney Test starting on January 6.
"There's nothing perfect about what we've come up [with] here but we appreciate everyone's support and understanding in these tragic and extraordinary circumstances," Sutherland said. "The schedule will inconvenience a lot of people. We understand that. But we very much hope that in light of these extraordinary circumstances that everyone can see the big picture."
Sutherland acknowledged that they came incredibly close to cancelling the Brisbane Test match altogether due to the constraints of time, and also lauded their commercial partners for being co-operative in the entire matter and at no stage putting any pressure in regards to wanting a full four-match Test series.
"It's been remarkable to talk to our commercial partners," Sutherland said. "I've had conversations with chief executives of our commercial partners including broadcasters, who have said 'we completely understand the circumstances you are in, we should be the last ones you worry about, just get it done, do whatever you've got to do to work it through but don't feel any pressure from us'. I think that's been magnificent."