It will also be a test of this state's coronavirus strategy and a test of nerve for the government.

At this stage, up to 10,000 people will be allowed into the Sydney Cricket Ground each day to feast on the action, despite ongoing concerns about a number of COVID clusters across the city.

In any other year those seats would sell out quickly, particularly given the drawing power of the touring Indian side, but this year could be very different.

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It is a curious situation for cricket fans; on the one hand the Test is going ahead and the gates will be open to them but, on the other, official health and government messages warn against unnecessary trips around the city and urge us to avoid the crowds, where possible.

More troubling is the fact that concerns over the Sydney Test have moved beyond medical and have now become politicised.

Opposition leader Jodi McKay and health spokesman Ryan Park released a joint statement over the weekend calling on the government to ban spectators at the SCG, saying the match posed a COVID risk and that "it shouldn't be up to fans to decide if it's safe to attend".

"NSW is on a knife-edge and we can't afford to allow a possible super-spreader event like the cricket to go ahead with a large crowd," Ms McKay said.

The opposition is entitled to its view, and many across the state would support it, but, as the American example has shown us, politicising the pandemic is not conducive to good decision-making.

It does not serve the state's best interest for the government and opposition to become engaged in a game of brinkmanship over something as important as the population's health.

That said, this is a strange gamble for the government to take.

If the Test goes ahead without incident, then it will be forgotten within days and the government will have achieved little in terms of political capital.

If, however (God forbid), it goes badly, then it will be a disaster that haunts them right up until the next election.

Welcoming fans while asking them to stay away is simply too confusing and fraught. Much better to ban fans at the Test - and to do it straight away.