Commentator and cricket great Michael Slater (pictured) is currently in the Maldives after fleeing India in recent days
When I saw that Michael Slater’s ‘blood on your hands’ sledge of the Prime Minister was sent from his hideout in the Maldives I couldn’t help thinking, ‘gee, it’s alright for some.’
After all, if you are going to complain about being stuck somewhere after escaping a raging pandemic, there aren’t too many better places to be stranded than one of the world’s most exclusive holiday destinations.
And it’s going to get even better for Michael too because a whole heap of his mates are about to join him.
News that Cricket Australia is frantically arranging flights out of India for its contracted players whose cash grab in the Indian Premier League has been inconveniently cut short by coronavirus, will no doubt have been music to the ears of poor old Slats.
It must have been awfully lonely for him walking those pristine white-sandy beaches and drinking at the poolside bars on his Pat Malone, so he’d be delighted to hear a planeload or two of Aussie cricketers will soon be on their way.
Not so delighted, I would venture, would be some other Australians.
Around 9,000 Australians remain stranded in India, where the coronavirus crisis is worsening with around 400,000 new cases a day and hospitals at breaking point (pictured, a mass cremation of Covid-19 victims in New Delhi)
Test cricket legend Michael Slater said the Australian government has blood on its hands for how they’ve treated Aussies in India – all while enjoying the delights of the Maldives
Australian cricketers looking to escape India following the suspension of IPL will flee to the Maldives (pictured) or Sri Lanka in the coming days
Like the ones back home who think that the players headed out to pocket the riches of the IPL off their own bats, and should be getting back the same way.
Or, more crucially, the other 9,000 Australians stranded in India who don’t have a Fairy Godmother – or better still a major sporting body – who can make a few calls and wave a magic credit card to airlift them to safety.
The ones who are stuck in the major cities, where streets are lined with bodies and the air is filled with the smoke and stench of thousands of open-air cremations.
Of course our cricketers want to get out of there as soon as possible. Who wouldn’t?
What is upsetting so many of their countrymen back home is the impression that the likes of David Warner, Steve Smith, Chris Lynn and co are getting preferential treatment. That they are jumping the queue.
Which is sort of right – and sort of not right.
What CA is attempting to do is totally within the current legislation as set down by the Australian government.
Australian bowlers Pat Cummins (pictured with partner Becky) is expected to flee to the Maldives or Sri Lanka in the coming days
David Warner (pictured with wife Candice) remains stranded in India – and is likely going to be part of the contingent flown to a safe haven
Former test captain Steve Smith (pictured with partner Dani Willis) is among the Australian players stranded in India
They are not trying to bring the players, coaches and officials back to Australia in contravention of the current ban on travellers from India. They are simply trying to get them out of India to a safer location, such as the Maldives or Sri Lanka, until such time as they can be legally flown back to quarantine in Australian.
Now that’s not queue jumping, is it?
Technically, no – but Australians stuck in India and their anxious friends and relatives watching on from back home would no doubt argue that what’s good for a group of millionaire cricketers should be good for everyone.
At the very least there should be no empty seats on any Cricket Australia charter flights headed out of India.
Trouble with that is, if word got out that there were a couple of free seats going to the Maldives, you’d have a re-run of those old TV newsreels from the last days of Saigon.
As for those critics of the airlift plan who say that the players should just arrange their own charter and pay for it out of their massive pay-packets, well, that just ain’t going to happen.
A few players like Adam Zampa, Adam Tye and Kane Richardson managed to make their way back to Australia via Qatar, but that was before regular international flights were cancelled.
They simply booked scheduled flights through the Qantas apps on their phones and made their way to the airport.
Hospitals, morgues and crematoriums have been overwhelmed as the country has reported more than 300,000 daily cases for more than 10 days straight. Pictured: Bodies of victims who died of Covid-19 are burnt in India
A medical worker in PPE observes patients who have been infected by Covid-19 inside a makeshift care facility in a sports stadium at the Commonwealth Games Village in New Delhi
India is now reporting a seven-day average of more than 350,000 Covid cases (left), while the average number of deaths over the last week has risen to nearly 3,500 – which most believe is an under-estimate (right)
But professional cricketers trying to organise a charter flight? That’s a whole other ballgame.
These guys have had their travel arrangements organised for them since they were 10 years old. It’s all some of them can do to order a pizza.
Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting is seen in full protective gear as he isolates in India
Former Wallaby coach Bob Dwyer once told me that if he ever wrote a book he’d call it, ‘What Time Does The Bus Leave?’ – because that’s the only thing the players ever asked him.
So without CA making the calls, booking the flights and telling the players what time the bus left, there was no way this escape plan was ever going to get off the ground.
And let’s face it, CA was only too happy to do it if it was going to keep the players happy.
It’s a well-known fact that Test cricket – CA’s major source of broadcast income – is on the nose with up-and-coming players.
Why would they want to travel around the world playing long boring Tests in front of empty grandstands for 300 days a year when they can pick up a couple of million dollars for a few weeks work in the IPL and other T-20 competitions?
Hussey (middle with Shane Warne and Mark Howard), who’s working as batting coach for the IPL’s Chennai Super Kings, is now undergoing a second test
Cricket star David Warner shared a heartbroken note from his daughter Ivy while he is stranded in India – but could soon make a break for the Maldives
When CA cancelled last year’s Test tour of South Africa due to COVID concerns it headed off a showdown with a large group of senior players who simply didn’t want to go, COVID or no COVID.
So, laying on a couple of charter flights for players who chose to go to India totally independently of Cricket Australia is far more than a humanitarian gesture on the part of CA.
It is an insurance policy, so next time the players have to choose between an official tour or resting up for a bash for cash in India or the Caribbean, CA can say, ‘hey boys, remember India 2021? You owe us.’
It might not please everyone, but for them it’s money well spent.
Michael Slater is already in the island paradise of the Maldives (stock image) – and other Australian players could follow suit