Melbourne, July 9 (IANS) The picturesque Adelaide Oval will host the path-breaking, first-ever day-night cricket Test match between Australia and New Zealand from November 27 to December 1.
The game will be the third and final Test between the Trans-Tasman rivals with the first two matches in Brisbane (November 5-9) and Perth (November 13-17).
“This summer promises to be another history-making season for cricket in Australia. The inaugural day-night Test between Australia and New Zealand is a step designed to make following cricket much easier for fans to attend the game or watch on television,” Cricket Australia (CA) Executive General Manager of Operations Mike McKenna said on Thursday.
Australia will then face the West Indies in three Tests at Hobart (December 10-14), Melbourne (December 26-30) and Sydney (January 3-7) before taking on India in five One-Day Internationals (ODI) and three Twenty20 Internationals from January 12 to 31.
“New Zealand will be out for revenge following the World Cup loss to Australia while the West Indies will be looking to fight back after its series loss to Australia last month in the Caribbean,” added McKenna.
In another major shift, New Zealand town Lincoln will host Australia’s premier domestic cricket competition, the Sheffield Shield. This will be the first time a Shield match will be played outside Australia to prepare potential Test players for away series’ in New Zealand. The match will be played between New South Wales and Western Australia.
Besides, the Big Bash League’s (BBL) fifth season will start on December 17 while the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) will commence on December 5. The schedules for both will be made public later.
Also, New South Wales and South Australia will play a Shield match at Coffs Harbour as a tribute to the late Phillip Hughes from February 25 to 28.