It has been confirmed on Wednesday Morning that Canberra’s Manuka Oval will become the tenth ground in Australia to host Test cricket, with a match against the touring Sri Lanka side booked in for the ground.
After the schedule for the 2016-17 season was announced this morning, which included a One Day International fixture between Australia and New Zealand at Manuka Oval, more good news was to follow for the nation’s capital.
Currently on the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) future tours program, Australia is set to play six Test matches in the 2018-19 summer, with India and Sri Lanka playing four and two matches respectively.
While India would play their matches at the big locations, including the Boxing Day and New Years Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney Cricket Ground respectively, Sri Lanka, who are likely to draw a smaller crowd, will be scheduled on the smaller grounds.
The move to Canberra follows plenty of discussion in recent times about whether Hobart is up to hosting Test match cricket. While the Blundstone Arena will host South Africa this summer, the first time they have ever played in the Island state, the crowds that have shown up to support the International game have simply not been good enough in recent years.
During the 2014-15 summer, the West Indies travelled to Hobart, playing the game in front of empty stands on each day of the match.
Canberra, on the other hand, has hosted One Day Internationals on a regular basis, including three cricket World Cup matches last summer, and drawn strong crowds each time. The test now will be to keep that going over a five day period.
“Over several years, Canberra has demonstrated a strong appetite for international cricket, with consistently strong crowds coming to Manuka Oval for one-day international matches,” said Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland.
“Today’s announcement recognises the continued growth of the sport not only in the ACT but the wider region, and is a testament to the effort being placed on participation in the Territory with more than 32,000 playing cricket last season and this season on track for further increases.
“Part of our charter is to showcase the game to as many cricket fans around the nation to encourage growth, and with more than one million people living in the ACT and Southern NSW region, we believe there is a great advantage in Canberra hosting a Test match.”
Canberra is also the traditional host of the Prime Minister’s XI tour match.
“The ACT Government has invested significantly in Manuka Oval in recent years to ensure that the venue was well placed to host test match cricket,” said ACT Government Chief Minister, Andrew Barr.
“Today’s announcement is a big win for cricket fans in the Canberra region and for the city more broadly.
With a capacity of 16,000 seats, it mirrors that of Blundstone Arena.
Cricket Australia have also said they will continue to work with Cricket Tasmania to increase interest.
“We have worked very closely with Cricket Tasmania to provide some certainty over match content for the coming years, which we hope will grow interest and demand for attending international matches at Blundstone Arena, which is now a truly world-class venue,” Sutherland said.
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