Australia will play England under lights at the MCG to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Test cricket in 2027.
The match, from 11-15 March, will commemorate the first-ever Test, played between the two arch-rivals in Melbourne in 1877.
It will be the first time the MCG has hosted a men’s day-night Test after a successful women’s Ashes pink-ball clash at the venue earlier last month.
“The 150th anniversary Test at the MCG will be one of the great cricket events,” said Cricket Australia newly-installed chief Todd Greenberg.
“Playing under lights will be a fantastic way to celebrate both our game’s rich heritage and Test cricket’s modern evolution.
“This season’s Ashes series will whet the appetite for this clash in exactly two years, and we look forward to celebrating this historic occasion further as it draws nearer,” he added.
Australia host England for five Tests starting in November this year.
The 150th anniversary Test will follow Australia’s home five-Test series against India in 2027, making for a blockbuster summer.
The MCG was the venue for the 100th centenary Test in 1977 where the Greg Chappell-led Australia beat Tony Greig’s England by 45 runs.
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Steve Smith has retired from ODI cricket following Australia’s defeat to India in the Champions Trophy semi-finals.
The 35-year-old batsman, who led the team in the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins, will continue to play Tests and T20Is.
Smith told his teammates of his decision to retire immediately after Tuesday’s match, having top-scored with 73 in his side’s 264 all out.
“It has been a great ride and I have loved every minute of it,” Smith said in a Cricket Australia press release.
After making his debut against the West Indies in 2010 as a leg-spinning all-rounder, Smith went on to play 170 ODIs, scoring 5,800 runs at an average of 43.28.
He hit 12 centuries and 35 half-centuries, and was a member of Australia’s 2015 and 2023 World Cup-winning teams.
“There have been so many amazing times and wonderful memories,” Smith said. “Winning two World Cups was a great highlight along with the many fantastic teammates who shared the journey.
“Now is a great opportunity for people to start preparing for the 2027 World Cup so it feels like the right time to make way.
“Test cricket remains a priority and I am really looking forward to the World Test Championship final [against the Proteas in June], the West Indies in the winter and then England at home.
“I feel I still have a lot to contribute on that stage.”
Smith, who also took 28 wickets at 34.67, was the Australian ODI player of the year in 2015 and 2021.
He was also in the ICC ODI team of the year in 2015.
“We fully understand and support Steve’s decision,” said Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey.
“Steve has said on many occasions he is approaching the remainder of his playing career on a series-by-series basis, a position which hasn’t changed and one Cricket Australia supports.
“His record as a batter is exemplary and to leave the format as a two-time World Cup winner cements his legacy as one of the great Australian ODI players.”
Todd Greenberg, Cricket Australia chief executive, stressed that Smith still had a big role to play in red-ball and T20 cricket.
“We’re fortunate Steve still has much to offer in the Test and T20 arenas and I look forward to witnessing the next stage of one of cricket’s great careers,” he said.
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Mohammad Shami took three wickets in India’s semi-final win in Dubai.
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Virat Kohli rolled back the years with a polished 84 as India pulled off a tense chase to beat Australia by four wickets in the first semi-final of the Champions Trophy on Tuesday.
Set 265 for victory, India lost the 36-year-old in the closing overs but KL Rahul’s unbeaten 42 steered the team home with 11 balls to spare at the Dubai International Stadium.
They will face South Africa or New Zealand in the final on Sunday in Dubai with India playing all their matches at the venue after they refused to tour hosts Pakistan for the eight-nation event.
Lahore was the alternate venue for the final had India missed out.
Australia elected to bat and posted the highest total of 264 all out at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in this tournament after key knocks from captain Steve Smith (73) and Alex Carey (61).
In reply India lost two early wickets before Kohli and Shreyas Iyer (45) put the chase back on track in their partnership of 91.
Cooper Connolly, making the team in place of injured Matthew Short who was forced out of the tournament on Monday, trapped captain Rohit Sharma lbw on 28 for his first ODI wicket.
Kohli and Iyer then took stock against an inexperienced Australian attack missing their top fast bowlers including Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood to injuries.
But the next line of bowlers stood up as leg-spinner Adam Zampa bowled Iyer before pace bowler Nathan Ellis rattled the stumps of Axar Patel for 27.
Kohli, known as a master chaser who recently hit an unbeaten 100 in India’s win over arch-rivals Pakistan on 23 February, stood firm in another stand with wicketkeeper-batsman Rahul.
Kohli was dropped by Glenn Maxwell off Connolly on 51 but Zampa denied him another ton when he clubbed a googly to Ben Dwarshuis at long-on to leave India at 225-5 and Australia still hoping.
But Rahul kept calm and with Hardik Pandya, who hit three sixes in his 28, put on 34 off 31 balls to ease the pressure.
Ellis removed Pandya, another catch at long-on, but Rahul hit the winning six as a largely Indian crowd roared in delight.
Earlier, Australia lost regular wickets but kept coming back with partnerships including 50-plus stands between Smith and Labuschagne, who made 29, and then the captain and the left-handed Carey.
India pace spearhead Mohammed Shami stood out with figures of 3-48 as Australia’s innings lasted 49.3 overs. Spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets each.
Left-handed opener Travis Head gave the team a quick start with his 39 after losing his partner Connolly for a duck.
India’s victory is a reversal of their last match against Australia when they lost in the 2023 ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad.
The second semi-final is on Wednesday in Lahore.
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India booked their place in the Champions Trophy final with a four-wicket win over Australia in Dubai.
Australia captain Steve Smith says his team are confident they can counter India’s quality spin attack in their Champions Trophy semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday.
The two teams will face off at the Dubai International Stadium in a rematch of the 2023 ODI World Cup final won by Australia in Ahmedabad.
Australia beat rivals England by five wickets in their opening match but their next two games were abandoned because of rain in the Pakistani cities of Rawalpindi and Lahore.
India made it three wins from three in Group A with a victory over New Zealand on Sunday delivered by their four spinners on a tricky pitch.
Varun Chakravarthy took 5-42 in Dubai in only his second ODI to boost his hopes of selection.
“Yeah, I mean, not just Chakravarthy, I think the rest of their spin is quality as well,” Smith told reporters on Monday. “So I think for us, the game is probably won and lost how we play their spin, particularly in the middle overs, the way we get through there. It’s going to be a challenge …
“I think there’s going to be some spin, by the looks of it. Yeah, we’ve got to counter that … We’ve got a few options of ways we can go about it.”
The world champions are missing several key players including fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc to injuries.
But Smith said they could call upon part-time spinners, including Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, to support Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell on a track he believes “looks a dry surface”.
“We’ve got a lot of part-time options that could certainly play a role on here and a couple of front-liners as well,” he said.
Cooper Connolly, a batting all-rounder who bowls left-arm spin, has joined the squad as a replacement for Matthew Short, who was ruled out of the rest of the tournament due to a thigh injury.
Both Australia and Group B winners South Africa flew to Dubai from Pakistan without knowing who they would play in the semi-finals, the lineup for which was decided after the India-New Zealand match.
India have been slammed for playing all their games at one venue, in Dubai, while other teams shuttle between three Pakistani cities and the UAE.
India refused to play in host nation Pakistan due to political reasons.
But Smith played down any perceived disadvantage.
“We guessed right in the end,” Smith said on his team travelling to Dubai. “We had a little reset and a chance to have a couple of days here outside of a pretty strict sort of bubble, I suppose, in Pakistan with the security and stuff. It’s been nice to just have a couple of days chill here, a bit of training.”
Australia beat India by six wickets in the 2023 World Cup final, with Head hitting an unbeaten 137.
“I mean, there’s pressure every time you play in a big game,” said Smith of Head. “But, as we know, Travis has stood up in many of those in the past. And, you know, he looked in great touch the other night against Afghanistan.
“I’m sure he’s going to be looking to come out here and play the same way he’s played for a long time, with good intent, good aggression.”
South Africa face New Zealand in the second semi-final in Lahore on Wednesday.
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Rohit Sharma has warned his India team to expect “fightbacks” and “nervy times” against Australia in their Champions Trophy semi-final in a rematch of the 2023 ODI World Cup final.
India hammered New Zealand by 44 runs on Sunday to be unbeaten in three matches and top Group A of the 50-over tournament played in Dubai and Pakistan.
They next face the Steve Smith-led Australia on Tuesday in Dubai for a place in the final of the eight-nation event.
Australia beat England by five wickets in their opening match but their next two games were abandoned because of rain.
They are also missing several key players, but the Australians have a reputation for raising their game when it matters and beat hosts India in the World Cup final, the last time the two countries played an ODI.
“Look, it is a great opposition to play against,” captain Rohit told reporters. “All we have to do is what we have been thinking about the last three games and we have to approach that game in a similar fashion.
“We understand the opposition and how they play and stuff like that.”
Australia are on paper a weaker team from the one that beat India by six wickets in Ahmedabad in November 2023.
The world champions lost fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood to ankle and hip injuries respectively for the Champions Trophy.
They are also without Mitchell Starc, who is out for personal reasons.
Mitchell Marsh is also absent with an injury and Marcus Stoinis announced his retirement on the eve of the tournament.
“Look, Australia have been such a great team over the years,” said Rohit. “So we will expect some fightbacks, we will expect some nervy times as well in the middle.
“But that is how the game is being played these days. And you are talking about a semi-final.”
HIGHLIGHTS: New Zealand vs India (Champions Trophy)
India went in with four spinners including two all-rounders in their last group match in Dubai and came up trumps with Varun Chakravarthy returning figures of 5-42.
Rohit said he will be tempted to keep the same combination against Australia.
“He just showed what he is capable of,” Rohit said of Man of the Match Chakravarthy, a wrist spinner with many variations up his sleeve.
“Now it is up to us to think and see how we can get that combination right. He did everything that was asked for … it is a good headache to have.”
India have been slammed for playing all their matches at one venue, in Dubai, while other teams shuttle between three Pakistani cities and the UAE.
India refused to play in tournament hosts Pakistan because of political tension.
Rohit dismissed the notion it gives India an advantage.
“Even for us it is a little bit of a question mark as to which pitch is being played,” said Rohit. “Because there are four or five surfaces that are being used here. I don’t know which pitch is going to be played in the semi-finals.
“But whatever happens we will have to adapt and see what is happening and what is not. And this is not our home, this is Dubai.”
POLL: Who will contest Champions Trophy final?
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Australia qualified for the Champions Trophy semi-finals after their Group B match against Afghanistan ended without a result in persistent rain in Lahore on Friday.
Chasing 274 for victory at Gaddafi Stadium, Australia were 109-1 in 12.5 overs when rain stopped play, giving them four points in their three games.
Afghanistan, who have three points from two games, need England to beat South Africa by a big margin in Karachi on Saturday to sneak into the last four on net run rate.
Afghanistan’s -0.99 net run-rate is inferior to South Africa’s 2.14 despite beating England by eight runs in Lahore on Wednesday.
EXPLAINED: Proteas’ Champions Trophy permutations
Australia were well placed to chase down the target with opener Travis Head not out after a 40-ball 59 spiced with nine fours and a six.
Steve Smith was unbeaten on 19 after Matthew Short was dismissed for 20.
Heavy rain stopped play and as water pooled in the stadium the umpires ended the match at 8:55pm.
Afghanistan had totalled 273 all out in 50 overs after they winning the toss and batting.
Sediqullah Atal hit 85 and all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai 67 as they sought a win to seal a semi-final berth.
In overcast conditions, Afghanistan lost opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for nought in the first over to Spencer Johnson.
Ibrahim Zadran, hero of Afghanistan’s win over England in the first match with the highest-ever Champions trophy score of 177, added 67 for the second wicket with Atal before he fell for 22 to spinner Adam Zampa.
Atal and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (20) put on 68 for the fourth wicket before Australia fought back with four wickets for just 40 runs.
Atal’s 95-ball innings included six fours and three sixes.
At 199-7 Afghanistan were in danger of being dismissed for a below-par total, but Omarzai held the innings together, smashing five sixes in a 63-ball knock and adding an invaluable 74 runs with the last three wickets.
Rashid Khan chipped in with a 17-ball 19 with two boundaries.
Ben Dwarshuis was the best Australian bowler with 3-47. Zampa took 2-48 and Johnson finished with 2-49.
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Australia qualified for the Champions Trophy semi-finals when rain cut short their match against Afghanistan in Lahore.