Cricket Australia is advising fans to prepare themselves for hot weather at the MCG on Boxing Day, as the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts the temperature reaching 40C in Melbourne on the first day of the fourth Border-Gavaskar Test. CA’s chief of cricket James Allsopp said the forecasts had been changing, but that “it is looking hot” and his organisation would ensure appropriate messaging is used in the coming days.
“The big thing is just making sure we encourage everyone to take proper precautions,” he said, advising spectators to use sun screen, bring hats, and drink enough water. “For the players, they’ll probably be additional drinks breaks if it’s going to be the temperatures they’re expecting.”.
Officials will calculate a heat stress risk index before play using the ambient air temperature, wind speed, relative humidity and a measure of the heat of the direct sun known as the black globe temperature. Additional and extended drinks breaks can be implemented in response, and the game’s extreme heat policy provides that matches can even by suspended in extreme cases.
Tennis Australia stops play when the wet bulb globe temperature – another measure of heat stress – reaches 32.5C, or the ambient air temperature exceeds 36C. But officials allow cricket to continue in hotter conditions. The 2018 Ashes Test in Sydney took place – with additional drinks breaks – when the temperature soared above 43C.
