Australia’s home international season will begin in late August and the men’s team faces one of their busiest summers as the catch-up of Covid-impacted series continues in the final months of the current future tours programme.
In addition to the men’s T20 World Cup, the men’s team will play Zimbabwe (ODIs), New Zealand (ODIs), West Indies (T20Is and Tests), England (T20Is and ODIs), and South Africa (Tests and ODIs) in the 2022-23 season, with the first two series taking place in Townsville and Cairns, beginning on August 28, as international cricket returns to the Top End. The last time Australia’s men visited the region was in 2008, though Townsville has since hosted Papua New Guinea internationals.
In January, the women’s team will host Pakistan for ODIs and T20Is ahead of the T20 World Cup in South Africa, and they will also play five T20Is in India before Christmas.
The three men’s one-day internationals against South Africa, scheduled to take place after the Test series in mid-January, have still to be confirmed after CSA requested that they be shifted, but no alternative window has been found. CSA had planned to play them before the Test series so that players could return home in time for the newly announced local T20 tournament.
The men’s T20 World Cup will be sandwiched between two T20I series against the West Indies and two bilateral series versus England, with the T20Is serving as warm-ups. In mid-September, Australia will go to India for three Twenty20 Internationals. The West Indies were originally scheduled to play three T20Is, but one was eliminated due to the short gap between the end of the CPL and the start of the World Cup qualifying process.
The five men’s Tests of the summer will take place across barely six weeks with Perth (November 30-December 4) hosting the opening match against West Indies followed by a day-night game in Adelaide (December 8-12). South Africa will play at the Gabba (December 17-21), MCG (Boxing Day) and SCG (January 4-8) before the ODI series wraps up the men’s home schedule ahead of a tour to India next February and March.
That order of Tests means a move away from the tradition of the Gabba being the opening match (although that has also happened a number of times in recent years) but it means both West Indies fixtures – played before the holiday period – will have a greater primetime slot on Australia’s east coast while CA are also looking ahead to when the Gabba is not available during its redevelopment for the 2032 Olympics.
After last season featured two women’s Tests against India and England, there are none on the calendar for the upcoming summer but they remain central to Cricket Australia’s ambitions. The two limited-overs series against Pakistan will take place from January 16-29 across Allan Border Field, North Sydney Oval and Manuka Oval with the teams then heading to South Africa for the T20 World Cup where Australia will defend their title.
Unlike recent seasons, no women’s internationals have been scheduled for September with an eye on player workload heading into the World Cup while March has also been left vacant in case a Women’s IPL gets off the ground.
There are some tight turnarounds in the men’s schedule with the first ODI against England in Adelaide taking place just four days after the T20 World Cup final on November 13, should either side make it that far, and there is a maximum of four days between Tests once that format begins on November 30.
The ODIs against Zimbabwe and New Zealand in northern Queensland – both series which have been postponed due to Covid – are unlikely to feature a full-strength Australia side with a handful of players having deals in the Hundred which runs until early September while some may also be rested.
Having not played any ODIs in the previous home season the men’s team have 12 scheduled in 2022-23. The three matches against South Africa are set to start earlier in the day than would be traditional to free up the evening for BBL matches. They could be the last home ODIs played in January as CA looks to create a window in the calendar for the BBL so that Australia players can be more involved.
In the coming months, the domestic timetables will be released. The WBBL will run from mid-October to late-November, with the BBL following after the West Indies Test series and possibly lasting until early February.
With the men’s T20 World Cup in October and November, as well as Sheffield Shield, Marsh Cup, and WNCL fixtures, finding adequate sites for all the formats has been a difficult jigsaw puzzle. The extended WNCL, which will now feature a full home-and-away format, is expected to begin in late September, just ahead of the WBBL.
Warm-up matches are expected for both the West Indies and South Africa prior of their respective Test series.
