Cricket Australia (CA) announced on Sunday that Australia and England will play a commemorative match at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in March 2027 to celebrate 150 years of Test cricket. The first-ever Test was also played at the same venue in March 1877 between both teams, which Australia had won by 45 runs. MCG had also hosted the Centenary Test in 1977 which produced the exact same result as the inaugural Test match. Besides, CA also allocated hosting rights for different formats of men’s cricket for the next seven summers, spanning from 2024-25 to 2030-31. The arrangements were announced as a part of a strategic partnership between the state government and Cricket Australia.
There were speculations that the traditional annual Boxing Day Test match would be shifted out of the MCG. Those speculations were also put to rest as MCG retained the hosting rights till 20230-31. Similarly, the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) also retained the hosting rights of the New Year Test match. Moreover, the Adelaide Oval will host a combination of Day-Night and Day Test matches as the ‘Christmas Test’ every year in December, starting from the 2025-26 Ashes series. Every international summer will kick off with The West Test at Optus Stadium, Perth, for the next three years.
However, for the first time in 50 years, the Gabba in Brisbane won’t host any Test match in 2026-27. One of the major reasons for excluding Gabba from the fixture beyond 2026 is that its viable life will come to an end in 2030. Also, as Brisbane will host the Olympics in 2032, the plans to rebuild the venue have been ditched by the Queensland Government due to the high costs involved. The clouds of uncertainty have led Queensland Cricket to question whether the stadium will be usable as the state government has proposed renovations instead of a complete overhaul.
Australian Summer of 2024-25: Border-Gavaskar Trophy
The highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) will the one of the biggest sporting attractions of this year’s summer season in Australia. The first match of the 5-match Test series will commence on November 22 in Perth. The fifth and final Test, to be held at the SCG on January 03, 2025, will mark the conclusion of the series.
Rishabh Pant’s heroics at the Gabba in 2020-21 BGT, which made India script one of the greatest comebacks after getting bowled out on 36 in the first Test, have itched in the mind of every spectator of the game in both countries. Australia will vow to finish the unfinished business and reclaim the trophy after years. There is a lot of buzz already around the series as India has defeated the Aussies twice consecutively in the last two series in Australia. The ticket sales for the series have seen a record-breaking surge in the numbers, as high as at least 6 times than the Covid-era series between both teams.
