Star batsman Marnus Labuschagne says it will be a “sad day” if the Gabba loses its status as a Test cricket venue.
Cricket Australia has not included the famous Brisbane ground in its schedule for home Tests beyond the 2025-26 Ashes series due to the uncertainty about the future of the ageing venue, which in its current state has a “use-for-life” only until 2030.
CA chief executive Nick Hockley on Monday said it was “clear” the “useful economic life of the Gabba is kind of nearing an end point”.
“We welcome that there’ll be further investment in the near term but … we think that the sports fans of Queensland deserve a brilliant, fit-for-purpose stadium for the longer term,” Hockley said.
The Gabba is the home ground of Queensland and Australian star Labuschagne, who said the prospect of the venue not hosting Test cricket was “very disappointing”.
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“Every time we (Australia) don’t get to play at the Gabba it’s disappointing for us as a playing group because we love the wicket at the Gabba,” he said.
“We love playing in Brisbane, we’ve got a really good record in Brisbane, so that (no Tests at the Gabba) is really not ideal.
“Hopefully, over the next couple of years we can sort out the things that need to be done for us to be hosting Tests (at the Gabba) in the future.
“It’d be a sad day if we don’t get to play at the Gabba for a long period of time.”
The Gabba had been scheduled to be the main stadium for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, but the planned upgrade of the venue was scrapped by the Queensland government due to costs.
Cricket will become an Olympic sport in 2028, with the T20 format of the game set to be played in Los Angeles.
“It’s very exciting for cricket to be in the Olympics. It’s going to be awesome,” Labuschagne said.
“It’s hard to fathom how it’s even going to work with everything. It’s really exciting to host the Olympics first and foremost in 2032, but to have the Olympics in America (in 2028), and to have the cricket in there, it’s going to be amazing.
“People are excited to see that cricket gets its time in the sun in the Olympics.”
Labuschagne, who is not in Australia’s T20 team, will be 34 at the time of the LA Olympics and wasn’t sure if he would still be in selection contention by then.
“That’s a long time away. We’ll have to wait and see,” he said.
“You want to be playing all formats for Australia.”
Labuschagne, who will again play for Brisbane Heat in the upcoming BBL season when his international schedule permits him to, is preparing for Australia’s five-game one-day international series against England starting in the UK next month.
“I haven’t played international cricket since our (Test) series win in New Zealand (in March), so it’s going to be exciting to play some cricket in England for Australia,” he said.
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