Adelaide Oval Pink Test returns in bumper summer of Aussie cricket
Two years of COVID postponements and a Twenty20 World Cup have handed Australia’s cricketers the busiest summer in the country’s history, with Cricket Australia revealing a record 27 men’s fixtures – including an Adelaide Oval pink-ball Test against the West Indies.
Adelaide Oval will again host its traditional day-night test on December 8, 2022. Photo Dave Hunt/AAP
Early-season cricket will be played in Townsville and Cairns against Zimbabwe and New Zealand before Australia leave for a three-match Twenty20 series in India.
West Indies and South Africa will visit for a Test series, while the former will join New Zealand and Zimbabwe to play a catch-up white-ball series before the home T20 World Cup that was originally slated for 2020.
Australia then plays West Indies and England in a white-ball series either side of the October-November Twenty20 World Cup, with the English to be coached by Australia’s former women’s mentor Matthew Mott.
Notably, the Test summer begins in Perth on November 30 against West Indies, before a pink-ball Test in Adelaide from December 8.
Brisbane then hosts the first Test against South Africa on December 17, before Melbourne and Sydney hold the traditional Boxing Day and New Years’ Tests.
The schedule makes for a shift away from the Gabba hosting the first Test of the summer, but means the first two Tests are beamed into the east coast in evening prime-time before the Christmas period begins.
“We are hosting a record six touring nations to Australia this season, in addition to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” CA CEO Nick Hockley said.
“We are delighted that Test cricket is coming back to Perth Stadium for the first Test of the summer versus the West Indies, after almost three years without international cricket.
“And we look forward to hosting South Africa over Boxing Day and New Year for the first time since 2008.”
The figure of 27 matches for the men does not include any T20 World Cup warm-up fixtures, or finals games if the defending champions qualify.
The summer therefore easily tops the previous record of 24 matches in 2014-15, which also included a home World Cup in the one-day format.
Meanwhile, Australia’s women play three ODIs and T20s against Pakistan in January, with no Test on the agenda.
They will also tour India for five T20s in December, ahead of the short-form World Cup in South Africa in February.
Australian summer of cricket schedule 2022/23
MEN’S:
ODIs v Zimbabwe:
August 28, 31 and September 3 at Riverway Stadium, Townsville.
ODIs v New Zealand:
September 6, 8 and 11 at Cazalys Stadium, Cairns.
T20s v West Indies:
October 5 and 7 at Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast.
T20s v England:
October 9 at The Gabba, Brisbane; October 12 and 14 at Manuka Oval, Canberra.
ICC T20 World Cup
October 22 v New Zealand at SCG; October 25 v TBA at Perth Stadium; October 28 v England at MCG; October 31 v TBA at The Gabba, Brisbane; November 4 v Afghanistan at Adelaide Oval.
ODIs v England (D/N)
November 17 at Adelaide Oval; November 19 at SCG; November 22 at MCG.
Tests v West Indies
November 30 – December 4 at Perth Stadium; December 8 – December 12 at Adelaide Oval (D/N).
Tests v South Africa
December 17 – December 21: The Gabba, Brisbane; December 26 – December 30 at MCG; January 4 – January 8 at SCG.
ODIs v South Africa
January 12 at Blundstone Arena, Hobart; January 14 at SCG; January 17 at Perth Stadium.
WOMEN’S
ODIs v Pakistan
January 16 and 18 at Allan Border Field, Brisbane; January 21 at North Sydney.
T20s v Pakistan
January 24 at North Sydney; January 27 and 29 at Manuka Oval, Canberra.
-AAP
