Cricket Australia announces home summer schedule for 2021-22 season
Cricket Australia has put forth the itinerary of the 2021-22 home summer for Australia’s Men’s and Women’s cricket teams.
The bumper home season starts with a series against India Women, the dates of which are yet to be announced, and ends with a five-match T20I series against Sri Lankan Men. They would also be hosting New Zealand for an ODI and T20I series. However, the biggie comes in the form of the Men’s and Women’s Ashes.
The Men’s Ashes gets underway on December 8 with the final Test from January 14. Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth are the hosts of the matches. While Gabba will host the opener, the MCG has retained its rights to host the traditional Boxing Day Test. However, the fifth and final Test will be played at Perth’s Optus Stadium instead of the SCG, for the first time in over two decades.
The Women’s Ashes starts on January 27 followed by three ODIs and as many T20Is.
“We would absolutely love for the English fans to come. We speak to the Barmy Army a lot and they would absolutely love to be here to support, but I think everyone understands the current situation,” CA’s interim Chief Executive Officer Nick Hockley said.
“It’s pleasing to see the vaccine roll-out in Australia, and it’s also encouraging to see the UK opening up so we just have to watch and hope. But our current thinking is there are likely to be international travel restrictions in place up until the end of the year,” he stated.
Afghanistan to play one-off Test against Australia
Afghanistan were scheduled to play a solitary Test last year on Australian soil. However, due to all the complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the match had to be postponed. The game is now set to start on November 27 at the Blundstone Arena. The match takes place just before the men’s and women’s Ashes start.
“We’re thrilled they’re able to come this year. It was a huge disappointment they were unable to tour last year. I’ve been speaking to the Afghan ambassador here, and I know the entire Afghan community in Australia is extremely excited so I’m certainly hoping as many of them as possible will be making the trip to Hobart,” Hockley added.
For the time being, the Aussies are set to tour the West Indies for an ODI and T20I series, starting July 9. Even as the T20Is would be played at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia, the ODIs will take place at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. Recently, CA named a 23-member preliminary squad for the same tour.
Here’s the full schedule
Women’s Series v India – Details TBC
Men’s Test v Afghanistan: Nov 27 – Dec 1: Blundstone Arena
Men’s Ashes v England
Dec 8-12: 1st Test, The Gabba
Dec 16-20: 2nd Test, Adelaide Oval
Dec 26-30: 3rd Test, MCG
Jan 5-9: 4th Test, SCG
Jan 14-18: 5th Test, Perth Stadium
Women’s Ashes v England
Jan 27-30: Only Test, Manuka Oval
Feb 4: 1st T20I, North Sydney Oval
Feb 6: 2nd T20I, North Sydney Oval
Feb 10: 3rd T20I, Adelaide Oval
Feb 13: 1st ODI, Adelaide Oval
Feb 16: 2nd ODI, Junction Oval
Feb 19: 3rd ODI, Junction Oval
Men’s ODI & T20 Series v New Zealand
Jan 30: 1st ODI, Perth Stadium
Feb 2: 2nd ODI, Blundstone Arena
Feb 5: 3rd ODI, SCG
Feb 8: Only T20I, Manuka Oval
Men’s T20 Series v Sri Lanka
Feb 11: 1st T20I, SCG
Feb 13: 2nd T20I, The Gabba
Feb 15: 3rd T20I, Metricon Stadium
Feb 18: 4th T20I, Adelaide Oval
Feb 20: 5th T20I, MCG
