SYDNEY, Feb 12, (AFP): Australia’s public broadcaster Tuesday said it will not broadcast or report live from the upcoming cricket Test series in India after deciding not to pay inflated rights fees. The ABC said it could not afford the broadcast rights fees demanded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), understood to be much higher for the four-Test series beginning Feb 22 than previous Australian tours.
It had still intended to send veteran radio commentator Jim Maxwell, but the BCCI refused him accreditation. “It is really disappointing,” an ABC spokeswoman told AFP. “It will result in it being covered through the news just like a news item but there won’t be any feeds, certainly not ball-by-ball coverage.”

As a general rule, ABC covers Australia’s Test matches in India, although it did not broadcast the 2010 series as it clashed with the Commonwealth Games. The ABC said its managing director Mark Scott was negotiating with the Indian High Commission in Australia to reverse Maxwell’s accreditation decision. “We are leaning on Cricket Australia to help out because this means that there is no free-to-air broadcast of what’s happening over there,” the spokeswoman said. Maxwell said the BCCI instead offered him a place in a VIP box for the entire series. However, he said this invitation came “with the proviso that if I wish to report on proceedings, because I am not a rights holder, I’ll have to leave the ground”.

“So, obviously that is unacceptable to the ABC and we’ve decided not to go,” he told the broadcaster.
“Essentially it seems as though the fact that we didn’t take up the rights, they feel as though as a radio reporter I don’t have a position there. I am not able to report live from the ground.” The development follows a rights dispute between some media organisations and the BCCI over England’s tour of India last year. News agencies including AFP, Thomson-Reuters and the Associated Press suspended text and photo coverage of the England series over the BCCI’s decision to bar photo counterparts such as Getty Images and Action Images. Meanwhile, Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke declared himself fighting fit as he left for India Tuesday, saying the line-up for the first Test since the retirement of Michael Hussey was “very open”. Clarke, who missed the final one-day international against the West Indies in Melbourne with a hamstring strain, voiced confidence he would be ready for the first Test in Chennai on Feb 22. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that I will be fit for the first Test match,” he told reporters, adding that he hoped to play in the second opening tour game to get used to conditions on the subcontinent.

“I think I’ve been lucky throughout my career to be honest, with the degeneration in my back, to have played 80-odd Test matches and not missed one is something I’m very proud of.” The skipper said it remained “very open” on who would play in the first Test, the first since Hussey called it quits which followed veteran Ricky Ponting’s decision to retire late last year. Clarke said the two opening tour games provided a good opportunity for the Australian players to prepare themselves for the tricky conditions they will face in the four-Test tour. “There are 17 guys in the squad, we’re all fighting for a spot — unfortunately, you can only pick 11,” he said. “Runs and wickets (in the opening tour games) will certainly play a big part in picking the side. “But for a lot of the guys it’s more about preparation and seeing (Indian) conditions.”

Selectors will be faced with where to place vice-captain Shane Watson, who returns from injury and who has put himself forward as an opener. “Obviously, Shane needs to come back into the line-up,” Clarke said. “It’s a lot different now that Watto is not bowling. As an all-rounder, I think he walks into any team. “As a batsman, there is a much bigger pool of players so we’ve got to work out what our best batting line-up is.” Clarke said David Warner and Ed Cowan, who opened for the Tests against South Africa and Sri Lanka, had “put their hand up against the No.1 Test team in the world (South Africa)”. “I think it’s a really positive sign that we’ve got so many options in our squad,” he said. Clarke, who made his Test debut with a century in India in 2004, said he would also be happy to bowl his off-spin.
“I’m more than happy to bowl as much as I need to bowl,” he said.