Sydney, Oct 26(ANI): Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has said he would love to have a five-Test match series with South Africa at home, but added it is not possible since both the countries share the season.
Sutherland also admitted to surprise that the South African board had arranged a Twenty20 match instead of a Test on Boxing Day after refusing to tour Australia in the peak Christmas and New Year timeslots.
Graeme Smith's squad is bound for Australia this weekend and will play Tests in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The series will finish on December 4 so the Proteas can return home to host New Zealand.
"They share our season and it doesn't really work for us and it doesn't really work for them to play away. We'd love to play five Test matches against South Africa here in Australia but would we love to go over there and play it, and when would we do that? The Age quoted Sutherland, as saying.
"I don't foresee any way in which Australia and South Africa will play Test series of more than three Test matches for those reasons," he added.
"Of course we'd prefer to have South Africa for Boxing Day and New Year and, as I understand it, it's a great thing for South African cricketers to do that as well. I understand from South Africa's viewpoint, they've got their own summer and they have some tradition around Boxing Day and New Year as well," he said.
Sutherland added: "It [the Twenty20 fixture] surprised me but I completely respect their right to work out their schedule and what's going to be the best for South African cricket." (ANI)
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