MCG to Stage Landmark 2027 Test Match as Australia and England Celebrate 150 Years of Test Cricket
At the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia and England will play a one-off Test match, to celebrate 150 years since the beginning of Test cricket in March 2027.
The announcement that the MCG, SCG, and Adelaide Oval had secured seven-year staging agreements for their regular Test matches coincided with the confirmation of the anniversary fixture in Melbourne by Cricket Australia [CA] and state governments. Adelaide, on the other hand, has agreed to a seven-year commitment to hold their Test match before Christmas.
The Centenary Test of 1977, which Australia won by 45 runs, will be replicated in the 2027 Test, matching the margin of the inaugural Test played in 1877. Rod Marsh and Derek Randall both scored hundreds in 1977, and Dennis Lillee took 11 wickets.
Adelaide has gained a seven-year commitment to a pre-Christmas slot for its Test after the South Australia government made a plea for the New Year’s Test. The annual Boxing Day (Melbourne) and New Year’s Tests (Sydney) have been guaranteed until 2030–31.
Even though the Future visits Programme (FTP) is only signed through the beginning of 2027, visits to England and India have been confirmed for the four years that follow.
For the next three seasons, the first Test of the season will be held at Optus Stadium in Perth. The chair of Cricket Australia, Mike Baird, stated that the Western Australian government had decided not to pursue a longer contract. This implies that instead of the customary Gabba in Brisbane, the Ashes will begin in the west the following year. Then, at the beginning of the 2026–2027 season, they will play host to New Zealand.
The stadium’s reconstruction plans have cast doubt on Gabba’s future ahead of the 2032 Olympics. Only the stadium’s matches against India and England for the next two seasons have been confirmed, and there’s a risk that Gabba won’t stage a Test match for a long time after that. The Gabba won’t stage a Test for the first time in fifty years during the 2026–2027 season.
“In Brisbane it is harder [to plan] because of the infrastructure,” Baird stated. “We don’t know what the long-term solution is because there is only ambiguity. We do know that there will be a purpose for the Gabba until 2030. We are collaborating with the AFL to develop a long-term solution because we urgently need one.
“We want a great venue in Brisbane, that can support Queensland Cricket and Australian cricket for years to come.”
The new agreement does not ensure that all future Tests will be pink-ball matches; instead, the 2025–26 Ashes Test will be a red-ball match, with Brisbane hosting the day-night match. Adelaide has historically been the home of day-night Test cricket, having hosted seven of the twelve matches played in Australia. For the next seven years, a BBL game on New Year’s Eve will also be held at Adelaide Oval.
In 2025–2026, England will embark on a five-match Ashes tour, while in 2026–2027, New Zealand will pay a visit. The later series, which will now consist of four Tests instead of the initial three on the FTP, will take place in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, and Adelaide. Australia is scheduled to embark on a five-Test tour of India in January and February of 2027.
Due to the extra anniversary Test, Australia may have two World Test Championship matches against Bangladesh in March 2027, which could put pressure on the schedule. Though they would have to be played before the June 2027 championship, there is a chance those games will be rescheduled under the existing WTC format.
While competing states attempted to unseat Melbourne and Sydney in the highly anticipated Christmas and New Year Tests, the outcome was always improbable. If the Gabba is unavailable after 2026–2027, there may be a chance for other locations to bid for a Test, which would include Hobart and Canberra. Although it won’t be ready until at least 2028, Tasmania hopes to host indoor Test cricket at their planned new multipurpose stadium.
One of the last major tasks finished by departing CA CEO Nick Hockley, who declared earlier this month that he would be leaving in March, is the staging agreements that were verified on Sunday.
After the next FTP is over, a future schedule for women’s internationals will be announced, but Adelaide will always play an ODI or T20I.
