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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The Melbourne Cricket Ground is in line to host back-to-back Test matches this summer but Cricket Australia is giving Sydney every opportunity to get the COVID-19 outbreak under control before making a final decision on the venue for the third Test match.
An outbreak of coronavirus in Sydney’s northern beaches has put CA officials on high alert with an emergency meeting of CA’s Board and a steering committee of administrators working to plan for contingencies.
CA today announced the MCG as the back-up venue if the SCG is unable to host the third Test against India from 7 January, while the intention is for the Gabba to remain the venue for the series finale from 15 January.
A final decision on the venue for the third Test will be made during the Boxing Day Test.
‘We have always maintained that scheduling a full summer of cricket during a global pandemic would require agility, problem-solving and teamwork like never before,’ Cricket Australia’s interim CEO Nick Hockley said in a statement.
‘We continue to place the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved as our number one priority. The record testing numbers and the drop in new community transmissions in NSW have provided cause for optimism, however if the situation in Sydney deteriorates, we have strong contingency plans in place.’
Complicating matters for the Australia and India teams and associated events, broadcast and media contingents are state border closures, with the Queensland border now shut to anyone coming from the greater Sydney area.
Keeping the SCG Test as scheduled would put the Gabba Test, scheduled from 15 January, in jeopardy, but moving between Melbourne and Brisbane would not – as things stand today – require any quarantine period.
Hockley stated the governing body was ‘working constructively’ with the Queensland Government to secure the necessary travel exemptions to allow key personnel to travel into the state when required.
– CA Media
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As the cricketing world awaits the coveted World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand, we take a look at eight interesting facts involving the trans-Tasman derby.
1. It is a history which has been dominated by Australia. In 126 matches, they’ve won 85, while New Zealand have won 35, with six no-results.
2. The sides have met at Melbourne Cricket Ground (venue for the final) on 20 occasions. Australia have won 14 of those, but New Zealand won the most recent meeting in February 2009. Despite a 98 from Michael Clarke, Grant Elliot held his nerve (sound familiar?) to score 61 not out for the Black Caps to win by six wickets.
3. The last time the sides met in an ODI series, Australia won 3-2 in 2010. You have to go back to 2007 to witness the last time the Kiwis won a series.
4. Australia’s lowest total in a World Cup match was 129 against India in Chelmsford in 1983. The second lowest was barely a month ago, when they posted 151 against their neighbours in a one-wicket defeat in the group stages. It was their fifth lowest total ever against New Zealand.
5. Both sides have passed the 300 mark in an ODI between the two on six occasions. The most recent was in February 2007, when Brendon McCullum saw his side over the line with 86 not out in a one-wicket victory. His average against them however is a paltry 28.
6. Of the current players, McCullum has the most runs, passing 1 000 in the earlier group match. Perhaps surprisingly, Brad Haddin has the most hundreds. Both of his ODI tons have come against the Black Caps.
7. Daniel Vettori boasts the most ducks ever scored between the sides with seven. The lower order batsman still has a respectable three half-centuries against them though. He is the fourth highest wicket-taker between the sides, and has played the second highest number of matches with 55 – five fewer than Steve Waugh.
8. Mitchell Starc’s 6-28 in their group encounter was the second-best figures between them. Shane Bond’s 6-23 in 2003 remains the best. The paceman has picked up four wickets or more an astonishing six times against the Baggy Greens – three more than Damien Fleming, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.