Cricket Australia insists Optus Stadium can replace the Gabba as the men’s Test team’s new fortress after handing Perth the first match against India.
Officials announced their schedule for this summer on Tuesday, with the WA capital to kick off the five-Test India series on November 22.
Perth is then expected to hold that status as the season opener in the majority of coming summers, a position long held by the Gabba.
Australia are undefeated in 31 summer-opening Tests at the Gabba since 1989, their only two defeats at the ground coming when it has closed out the summer.
But CA operations boss Peter Roach said the hard and fast Optus Stadium pitch, where Australia has won all four Tests played there, was now more than comparable to the one traditionally used at the Gabba.
“The clear advice from our national team is there is a preference to start series strongly at venues where they’re really comfortable,” Roach said.
“Perth and Brisbane they believe are somewhat comparable in terms of the advantage they get, in that they’re the hardest and bounciest pitches in Australia.
“They also believe that playing a day-night (Test) in Adelaide is a significant advantage, and the stats there are pretty conclusive too.
“With Perth and the Gabba, I think the gap has really closed in recent times in the way our players think about that.”
Adelaide will host the second Border-Gavaskar Test from December 6, with the venue winning back the day-night Test after Australia were beaten with the pink ball at the Gabba last season.
Brisbane then follows on December 14, before the traditional MCG and SCG Tests for Boxing Day and New Year’s.
Test players are expected to get a month of Sheffield Shield cricket in October, before three ODIs and T20s against Pakistan, starting with a day-night game at the MCG on November 4.
CA had offered an invitation to make the white-ball matches part of a triangular-series with India, but that was knocked back.
“It’s fair to say that every country in the world would love to see India and Pakistan compete in their country,” Roach said.
“We’re one of those countries that have asked the question, but there’s no room in the schedules to do that at the moment.
“We’ll keep talking to them for any other opportunities that arise, but in this specific example there is not going to be any change to this schedule.”
The total of six white-ball games means Canberra has missed out on a men’s international.
Manuka Oval will instead host one of the T20s in the women’s Ashes series, with CA making the call to play the Test in the series at the MCG from January 30.
The move to bigger grounds has also come into effect for white-ball games, with the women’s T20s against England to be played at the SCG and Adelaide Oval.
The women’s team will also open the summer, with three T20s against New Zealand in Queensland in September before the World Cup in Bangladesh.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Australia 2024-25 schedule
MEN: ODI vs Pakistan
Nov 4: MCG, Melbourne (D/N)
Nov 8: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (D/N)
Nov 10: Optus Stadium, Perth (D/N)
T20s vs Pakistan
Nov 14: The Gabba, Brisbane (N)
Nov 16: SCG, Sydney (N)
Nov 18: Bellerive Oval, Hobart (N)
Tests vs India
Nov 22-26: Optus Stadium, Perth
Dec 6-10: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (D/N)
Dec 14-18: The Gabba, Brisbane
Dec 26-30: MCG, Melbourne
Jan 3-7: SCG, Sydney
WOMEN: T20s vs New Zealand
Sept 19: Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay (N)
Sept 22: Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay (N)
Sept 24: Allan Border Field, Brisbane (N)
ODIs vs India
Dec 5: Allan Border Field, Brisbane (D/N)
Dec 8: Allan Border Field, Brisbane (D)
Dec 11: WACA Ground, Perth (D/N)
ASHES vs England
ODIs
Jan 12: North Sydney Oval, Sydney (D)
Jan 14: Junction Oval, Melbourne (D)
Jan 17: Bellerive Oval, Hobart (D)
T20s
Jan 20: SCG, Sydney (N)
Jan 23: Manuka Oval, Canberra (N)
Jan 25: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (N)
TEST
Jan 30-Feb 2: MCG, Melbourne (D/N)
langparker
Roar Rookie
Just another ploy by major sports executives to pressure governments (this time Qld) to spend a fortune on the facilities they utilise. Australia will probably rue the change as they should have when they scheduled the last few gabba tests at the wrong time of the season. The pitch is the best part of the gabba’s appeal, it suits our pace attack before tourists become acclimatised.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
You're right, they're not keen on it but they also don't stop it, eg World Cups. That said, I guess CA doesn't want to make India cranky and risk them pulling out of the Test tour.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Ironic, because the Gabba losses have been late in the season: middle of January, NOT November/early December. So the logic would surely be to prefer opening at the Gabba, no??
matth
Roar Guru
Their respective governments do not readily allow it
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Probably not, New Years however both from a weather and venue capacity point of view could open up next contract negotiations. Its hard to play in Perth for New Years though, the extra travel time on a short break if Melbourne goes into day five is potentially brutal.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
The market that relies the most on travel always gets midweek night games. It pretty much shows how CA feel about anywhere outside the main 5. Junk games in the worst slots, every time.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Mackay gets more international cricket than Hobart or Canberra.
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Haha. Yeah it pretty fancy. I wanted to watch the test in Hobart, read about the casino, first in aust, saved up all year. I should have organised a limo to the ground. Or a horse and carriage
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Dwayne starring in "King Farouk does Hobart". Roger Ebert reports Dwayne has reprised his earlier thespian zeitgeist in a performance resurgent of his younger days. Claudio Stegatelli was blown away with openjng weekends performance saying, "His delivery was for that of the ages and reminiscent of Sir Howard Brentwood
Micko
Roar Rookie
My bad! :silly: :laughing:
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
I stayed at that casino a few years back when the Windies toured there. Six nights. Was tops, they treated me awesome. Loved it. Lol
Ace
Roar Rookie
A bit of a cheap comment about Hobart accommodation Stufanoo. More 5star than you would imagine Some of you people are so crass
Ace
Roar Rookie
come straight down the Midlands Highway Peter :laughing:
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
why not Matt? If CA made it financially worth their while, surely they'd be interested?
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
I think the where is pretty much a lock in terms of venues for the 5 Test series, it's the when I find hard to fathom. If the Qld gov't offers CA a really good incentive to play the first Test there but the cricketers object, what happens? Or if the Perth Test is not well attended but the players want to keep playing the first Test there, do they get their wishes?
Brett
Roar Rookie
This is a big mistake - it’s like no one has considered the weather at all. Have a look at the losses at the Gabba - they’re not November losses. They’re when curators have had to change to pitch preparation in Brisbane’s wet season (when a foot of rain can fall during a commercial break). The Indians were no mugs to refuse the Adelaide day/nighter, DRS, and the Gabba in November of 2020. In Perth on the other hand, we refuse to let it rain from October to April, and the locals still have too big an AFL hangover to get excited about cricket at the start of the season.
The Bush
Roar Guru
I agree that Pakistan has more revenue potential than Zimbabwe or Afghanistan, but there are other options; New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa (not England as they're coming next summer and not Windies, as they came the summer before). It's particularly frustrating that we don't bring out Bangladesh; you can't build a rivalry/interest if you never do anything.
Barry Crocker
Roar Rookie
Would much prefer an Aust Day Test in Perth than the late November timeslot when all still at work/school. Strangely Aust Day is still a much bigger event than even NYE in Perth... At least this year the Test starts on a Friday (instead of Thurs) so a chance of getting decent crowds. However as judged by the exorbitant ticket prices in Dec Vs MCG/SCG Tests, this will play a factor also... (e.g. lower tier tix roughly $100 vs $30-40 for equivalent at MCG). This is the hidden part of how the puzzle is pieced together... Prepare for the east coast media drivel about WA crowds & a faux picture of empty seats in the sun drenched eastern side of the stadium (40C+). A better $$ measure is the actual gate/Corporate takings across the Test Match.
Linphoma
Roar Rookie
Adelaide used to have the Australia Day test but in this current climate no one would suggest promoting a blockbuster on January 26th. It's just too tricky. Everybody has an agenda.
Linphoma
Roar Rookie
Fat chance Melbourne will ever lose that big ticket Boxing Day test.