It seems impossible to believe, but the shambolic start to the cricket season is getting worse.

The latest embarrassment is that Cricket Australia does not even know if Stuart McGill – its chosen successor to Shane Warne – will be available for selection in the Test series against India starting on Boxing Day.

McGill is apparently too busy either editing film for his new food and wine show to let Cricket Australia know whether he would be available for selection, or undergoing surgery on his knee. Crikey understands he was too busy to return phone calls from Cricket Australia yesterday. Can you imagine an AFL coach like Mick Malthouse or rugby league’s Wayne Bennett tolerating this from a player?

The McGill saga is just the latest in a long series of public relations debacles for Cricket Australia. The Test series against Sri Lanka rated terribly on Nine, the crowds were poor and the series lopsided. It wasn’t helped by some atrocious umpiring blunders.

Now we hear that New Zealand, who play a three match Chappell–Hadlee Series next month, are in a total mess. Team morale is apparently at an all time low. The Kiwis were walloped two-zip in the recent tests against South Africa and now have to face the real prospect of a three-zero whitewash in the one day series beginning this weekend.

The one ray of hope for summer is that India have been performing well in the series against Pakistan. Cricket Australia desperately needs a competitive India for the four Test series starting Boxing Day.

And there is another little disaster Cricket Australia needs to address.

It could not even pick the winner of the federal elections, a two horse race with the favourite getting up at around 5-to-1 on!

Most unwisely, Cricket Australia allowed itself to be used in a Liberal Party election stunt during the campaign, when the now irrelevant Federal Sports Minister George Brandis promised a massive handout to further develop Alan Border Field at Albion in Brisbane, with the CEO of Cricket Australia standing dutifully by his side signing the praises of the Howard Government.