Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
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England have agreed to take on Australia in the first day-night Ashes Test next summer, with Cricket Australia soon to announce a 2017-18 home Test schedule that is set to again begin at the Gabba after this year's ill-fated switch to Perth.
The international schedule for next season is being finalised but the provisional itinerary has Brisbane resuming as the host of the opening match of the Ashes series in the last week of November, before the teams head to Adelaide and then in mid-December to the WACA, which is likely to stage the Perth Test with the new 60,000-capacity stadium having been timed to open its gates for the 2018 AFL season.
The Ashes schedule will create interest on several fronts when it is announced prior to the pink-ball Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Gabba, which starts in a fortnight.
England's agreement to the day-night concept is the most noteworthy. The captains of the two teams, Alastair Cook and Steve Smith, said this year they would prefer all five Tests to be day fixtures.
England have not yet publicly committed to playing under lights during the Ashes but it is understood they have agreed in principle.
The old enemy are staging a pink ball affair of their own for the first time against the West Indies at Edgbaston in August.
CA chief James Sutherland has said previously there would be between "zero and two day-night Tests" played during the Ashes. The pink-ball component in 2017-18 has not yet been confirmed by CA and the governing body has been guarded with the schedule while it remains in a provisional format.
But if there is only one Test under lights it is certain to be in Adelaide, where 125,993 spectators turned out over four days last week despite Australia's clash with South Africa being a dead rubber.
"I think the indications are with [England] having a Test match in Birmingham under day-night conditions, that's a sign they are clearly thinking there could be day-night Test cricket bobbing up in parts of the world when they have away tours," Sutherland said during an interview with ABC Radio during the Adelaide Test.
The return to Brisbane to begin the campaign to win back the Ashes, surrendered 3-2 in England last year, will also please Australian players given the team's imperious record there. Australia have not lost at the Gabba since 1988, kicking off many a successful home Test summer campaign at the venue. With CA scheduling one of two day-night Tests this summer, including one in Brisbane, that template was tampered with this year, resulting in a 177-run defeat to South Africa at the WACA. CA have pushed the Gabba Test back to mid-December and taken the pink ball there in an effort to improve on poor crowd numbers in non-Ashes years in Brisbane. The Pakistan match is an acid test for what role the Queensland capital plays in the summer when England aren't touring.
The timing of the Ashes Tests, with the first pencilled in for November 23, is also a resumption of regular service after an early beginning to the Test season this year – the series against the Proteas started on November 3, in Melbourne Cup week – played a role in hampering television ratings and aside from the Adelaide Test, attendances as well. Only one Sheffield Shield round was held before the South Africa series, but with a later start to the 2017 Ashes there should be the opportunity for players to prepare with more four-day domestic cricket.
A venue for the Perth Test may not be announced when the schedule is confirmed. There were hopes that the construction of the Burswood stadium would be finished in time to host an Ashes Test, but the venue's incoming chief Mike McKenna – formerly a senior CA executive – has said that "all the time frames are pointing to" the original launch event of the stadium, the next AFL season.
A CA spokesman said on Wednesday: "Piecing together the summer schedule is a complex task. We expect to be in a position to announce this schedule over the coming months once agreements are in place.
"We have two day-night Tests this year and ongoing scheduling of day-night Tests in the Australian summer is a natural progression. The Ashes is a great contest and attracts huge audiences both at the ground and on television, but nothing has yet been confirmed for next summer."
Ashes 2017-18 provisional itinerary
The international schedule for next season is being finalised but the provisional itinerary has Brisbane resuming as the host of the opening match of the Ashes series in the last week of November, before the teams head to Adelaide and then in mid-December to the WACA, which is likely to stage the Perth Test with the new 60,000-capacity stadium having been timed to open its gates for the 2018 AFL season.
The Ashes schedule will create interest on several fronts when it is announced prior to the pink-ball Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Gabba, which starts in a fortnight.
England's agreement to the day-night concept is the most noteworthy. The captains of the two teams, Alastair Cook and Steve Smith, said this year they would prefer all five Tests to be day fixtures.
England have not yet publicly committed to playing under lights during the Ashes but it is understood they have agreed in principle.
The old enemy are staging a pink ball affair of their own for the first time against the West Indies at Edgbaston in August.
CA chief James Sutherland has said previously there would be between "zero and two day-night Tests" played during the Ashes. The pink-ball component in 2017-18 has not yet been confirmed by CA and the governing body has been guarded with the schedule while it remains in a provisional format.
But if there is only one Test under lights it is certain to be in Adelaide, where 125,993 spectators turned out over four days last week despite Australia's clash with South Africa being a dead rubber.
"I think the indications are with [England] having a Test match in Birmingham under day-night conditions, that's a sign they are clearly thinking there could be day-night Test cricket bobbing up in parts of the world when they have away tours," Sutherland said during an interview with ABC Radio during the Adelaide Test.
The return to Brisbane to begin the campaign to win back the Ashes, surrendered 3-2 in England last year, will also please Australian players given the team's imperious record there. Australia have not lost at the Gabba since 1988, kicking off many a successful home Test summer campaign at the venue. With CA scheduling one of two day-night Tests this summer, including one in Brisbane, that template was tampered with this year, resulting in a 177-run defeat to South Africa at the WACA. CA have pushed the Gabba Test back to mid-December and taken the pink ball there in an effort to improve on poor crowd numbers in non-Ashes years in Brisbane. The Pakistan match is an acid test for what role the Queensland capital plays in the summer when England aren't touring.
The timing of the Ashes Tests, with the first pencilled in for November 23, is also a resumption of regular service after an early beginning to the Test season this year – the series against the Proteas started on November 3, in Melbourne Cup week – played a role in hampering television ratings and aside from the Adelaide Test, attendances as well. Only one Sheffield Shield round was held before the South Africa series, but with a later start to the 2017 Ashes there should be the opportunity for players to prepare with more four-day domestic cricket.
A venue for the Perth Test may not be announced when the schedule is confirmed. There were hopes that the construction of the Burswood stadium would be finished in time to host an Ashes Test, but the venue's incoming chief Mike McKenna – formerly a senior CA executive – has said that "all the time frames are pointing to" the original launch event of the stadium, the next AFL season.
A CA spokesman said on Wednesday: "Piecing together the summer schedule is a complex task. We expect to be in a position to announce this schedule over the coming months once agreements are in place.
"We have two day-night Tests this year and ongoing scheduling of day-night Tests in the Australian summer is a natural progression. The Ashes is a great contest and attracts huge audiences both at the ground and on television, but nothing has yet been confirmed for next summer."
Ashes 2017-18 provisional itinerary
- 1st Test: November 23-27, Brisbane
- 2nd Test: December 2-6, Adelaide
- 3rd Test: December 14-18, Perth
- 4th Test: December 26-30, Melbourne
- 5th Test: January 4-8, 2018, Sydney
