The head of Tasmanian cricket fears the state's dearth of international action may be depriving it of a generation of future players.
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Newly-appointed Cricket Tasmania chief executive Dominic Baker believes being left off the Test calendar would be felt for years.
Asked if he thought Tasmania has been dudded for international fixtures, Baker said: "The facts speak for themselves. We've had two days of full-on international cricket in two years. We've only got one one-dayer this year, I would argue that's not enough."
And the former chairman of AFL Tasmania warned that other sports, particular his former employer, would take advantage.
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"We need to have international cricket here so that the young men and women of Tasmania can see the pinnacle live and that keeps them wedded to our game.
"The pinnacle of AFL is being played four times a year at either end of the state and you can make a connection to what it means to be at the top of AFL footy because you can see it live. It's not necessarily the same with cricket.
"How sad will it be that potentially Tim Paine and Matthew Wade will finish their Test careers without ever playing on Tasmanian soil for their country? That is an opportunity missed for Tasmanian cricket because that could turn a young athlete who was wondering what sport to do into a cricket tragic forever."
Baker was speaking as Bellerive Oval was hosting a first-class match between a Cricket Australia XI and the touring English Lions.
But with minimal promotion and just a handful of spectators, Tasmania's primary cricket venue will host just one day of genuine international action this summer when Australia plays New Zealand in an ODI on March 20.
The state has not hosted a Test match since Australia was thrashed by South Africa in 2016 with little prospect of that changing.
"The upcoming schedule for the next five years isn't great. They're all five-Test blocks," Baker said.
"We'll be trying our hardest but I'm not overly optimistic.
"I think we've struggled to find a place in the Australian cricket calendar. One of the things we'll be working on is how do we bring more international cricket to Tasmania but we've also got to understand what others are bringing.
It's an opportunity missed for Tasmanian cricket
- Dominic Baker
"South Australia now has a real carnival around the pink-ball Test and they own that space. Boxing Day is Melbourne, the New Year's Test is Sydney, good luck getting the Australian team to start their summer anywhere but Brisbane because they always win there and there's just been a $40 million stadium built in Perth.
"All the series are now five Tests so where is our place?
"Canberra are paying big money to have cricket so are we in sixth place? Because Canberra is knocking down the door. But I would still contest that the best boutique cricket ground in Australia is Bellerive Oval and we've got to put that on the table to Cricket Australia.
"There is a big argument that we're a one-sixth share-holder of Cricket Australia so we should get one-sixth of the activity. But I think what people may not understand is that we do get one-sixth of the revenue."
Baker said the solution to Tasmania's dilemma may lie across the Tasman.
"The New Zealand example is fantastic. Their last Test series against England, they were playing at regional grounds, places with grassy hills, because they had seen the turnstiles stop ticking in the major hubs. So they're looking at doing something completely different. I think we provide a great opportunity for that."
- In the Sunday Examiner ROB SHAW tackles Dominic Baker about the pressing issues facing Tasmanian cricket.