Frankly, that is more spin than Shane Warne to South African Daryll Cullinan.

Eight games, which currently includes the Bangladesh Tigers playing three times and the New Zealand Black Caps once, comes with a price tag of some $3 million, equating to $375,000 per game. 

The Bangladeshis are kind and generous people, and I have no doubt that the public will be fond of their underdog status. And while the sport is certainly on the rise there, military coups are more common in the country than cricketing prowess, with the last unsuccessful attempt staged in 2007.

The forgotten nature of Tasmanian cricket on the Australian landscape was reinforced most recently when a Test Match was played at Canberra’s Manuka Oval in January. 

Australia had already battled the mighty Indians at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground a few weeks earlier, with a match in the Australian Capital Territory akin to hosting a Test Match at Bellerive Oval and another at York Park in the same summer of cricket.

Fair play to the ACT government who obviously lobbied hard for scheduling and paid the Cricket Australia asking price, but not since the Mercantile Mutual Cup of 1999/2000, when the Canberra Comets took the field, have they had any real presence playing at a national level.

The Women’s T20 World Cup will also take place in 2020 with Junction Oval in Melbourne, Sydney Showgrounds and Canberra’s Manuka hosting Australia during the Tournament. Tasmania has not even secured a game of any sort. This is particularly galling when long-term Tasmanian administrator Tony Harrison contributed so much to the women’s game at a national level. Yes, the ACT plays in the Women’s National Cricket League, but so do the Hobart Hurricanes play in the Women’s Big Bash.

The emphasis is undoubtedly on Twenty20, with junior participation continuing to increase significantly, as young girls flock to take up the sport. Youngsters can ramp, reverse sweep and lap in the backyard at will, yet questions remain about the ability to produce Test cricketers as a result.

The Hobart Hurricanes disappointingly lost their semi-final against the Melbourne Stars in front of a healthy home crowd of 12,404. The Sydney Sixers versus Melbourne Renegades attracted only 15,342 at Melbourne’s Docklands. By way of comparison, York Park attracted 12,455 and 13,836 respectively for two earlier season fixtures.

D’Arcy Short was the leading run scorer in BBL|08 and won the Player of Tournament for the second year in a row. Matthew Wade, his opening partner, ranked second in runs scored. The Tasmanian captain was also announced the Men’s Domestic Player of the Year at the Australian Cricket Awards.

The collective sigh by cricketing fans across Australia highlighted the respect for Tigers’ legend George Bailey, whose personality and leadership has been much needed since sandpaper became fashionable cricket equipment for some.

Tim Paine, once forgotten due to injury, has carried the sporting nation, rebuilding after an administrative, coaching and cultural debacle that left us scratching our heads and recalling unwanted memories of the 1981 underarm saga. 

His namesake, Tim Coyle, is one of the most successful and respected coaches in Australia who led Tasmania to its first Sheffield Shield victory in the 2006/2007 season. 

The Tigers also won the domestic four-day competition in 2010/11 and 2012/13, finishing runners-up five times, and winning the limited overs competition three times since the Gillette Cup victory in 1979.

Australian cricketing royalty, Ricky Ponting, will be an assistant coach of the Men’s ODI World Cup in England and is enjoying success and enormous respect in the lucrative Indian Premier League.

The last men’s Test match in Hobart was against South Africa in 2016. There is no five-day cricket in the foreseeable future.

Cricket Tasmania has the runs on the board and it is time to demand recognition.

At $375,000 per game, let’s not spin the Bangladesh fixtures by claiming they will attract thousands of tourists to our island. Instead, let’s launch our metaphorical coup d’etat to firmly entrench Tasmanian back on the international cricketing map.