150th anniversary Test match confirmed amid venue deals

A standalone celebratory match in Melbourne to commemorate Test cricket's 150th anniversary in 2027 is a feature of an extended men's hosting rights schedule released today by Cricket Australia.

While details are yet to be finalised for the Australia-England fixture that honours the inaugural Test played at the MCG from March 15-19 in 1877, it is expected to rival the memorable Centenary Test staged 100 years later at the same venue.

Among other details of venue allocations for men's Test matches which, in some cases, are finalised for the next seven summers are:

• Marquee matches at the MCG (Boxing Day Test) and SCG (New Year's Test) are locked in until 2030-31, maintaining traditions at those venues stretching back to 1981-82 and 1989-90 respectively
• Adelaide Oval will host the December 'Christmas Test' in either day-night or day format for the next seven summers, with the next men's Ashes contest in 2025-26 expected to be played as a red-ball match
• Perth's West Test will kick off the men's Test season for the next three years meaning the 2025-26 Ashes campaign begins at a venue other than the Gabba for the first time in more than four decades, and will be the first Ashes Test at the 60,000-seat stadium 
• In addition to the scheduled Test against India this summer, Brisbane has been guaranteed a pre-Christmas Test next summer that will be a day-night Ashes Test, expected to immediately follow the series opener in Perth, amid planning for the city's 2032 Olympic Games
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The venue schedule, finalised by CA in conjunction with state and territory governments to provide greater clarity and surety for the game's fans, also guarantees one men's white-ball international fixture at the Gabba and Perth Stadium for the next two and three summers respectively.

And in addition to having a men's and women's limited-overs international locked in every year until 2030-31, Adelaide Oval will continue to host the hugely successful New Year's Eve BBL match over the same period.

Cricket Australia announced it will continue to work closely with governments in Tasmania, Northern Territory and ACT on exploring opportunities to host international matches over the next seven years. The proposed Macquarie Point stadium new-build in Tasmania is not expected to come online until at least 2029. 

Similar negotiations and announcements regarding women's international fixtures will follow the conclusion of the current ICC Future Tours Program next April, with the MCG already hosting the 90th anniversary women's Ashes Test from January 30-February 2 next year.

"We are delighted to confirm long-term hosting rights which provide certainty around the locations of some fantastic cricket over the next seven years," CA CEO Nick Hockley said today.

"We are confident this schedule ensures the best cricket will be played in the best venues at the right times across the country, including a fantastic mix of iconic Test matches, new blockbusters such as the West Test and Christmas Test and exciting day-night fixtures. 

"Ensuring that cities across Australia get the best possible fixtures at the times they want is a challenging task but we believe this plan delivers a fantastic schedule for cricket fans. 

"We are enormously grateful for the strong support of state and territory Governments and venue operators who will help us to deliver brilliant experiences across the country and maximise economic impact from these major events. 

"The 150th anniversary Test match at the MCG in March 2027 will be a wonderful celebration of the pinnacle format of the game at one of the world's great sporting arenas and we can't wait to host England on that occasion."

If the 2027 Sesquicentenary Test follows the mid-March timing of previous celebrations it will be the latest in the home summer a men's Test has been staged in Australia since the 1978-79 series against Pakistan (which ended on March 29).

The 1977 Centenary Test – held from March 12-17 – was a lavish occasion to which every living men's cricketer who had represented either Australia or England in an Ashes match was invited.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II met the competing teams on-field during the tea break on day five, shortly before Greg Chappell's Australia completed a 45-run win over Tony Greig's men thereby mirroring the result of the inaugural match a century earlier.

Among the legends present for that event was the game's greatest, Sir Donald Bradman, who insisted England rivals Harold Larwood and Bill Voce take a bow in the centre of the MCG to atone for the crowd hostility they had faced during 1932-33 Bodyline campaign.

The MCG scoreboard nameplates of all former Australia and England captains were also affixed to seating bays around the ground throughout the game, and a crowd of more than 50,000 turned out on each of the first three days.

That match is best remembered for outstanding individual performances by England's Derek Randall (174) as well as Australians Dennis Lillee (11 wickets), Rod Marsh (110), David Hookes (five consecutive boundaries off Greig in his maiden Test) and Rick McCosker who batted after suffering a broken jaw.

The Centenary Test is not classed as an Ashes Test given the urn was not up for grabs in that one-off encounter, and it is yet to be confirmed whether the same status would apply to the 2027 match.

However, the Ashes will be on the line in the 2025-26 battle which will carry a distinctly different look with the opening Test to be staged at Perth Stadium.

The last time an Ashes campaign kicked off in the Western Australia capital was 1982-83 when the first of five Tests was played at the WACA Ground.

That was the first Ashes contest after the World Series Cricket rift and then-broadcaster Channel Nine's coverage from Perth drew huge evening prime time audiences on Australia's east coast.

The only other occasion Australia and England have kicked off Test hostilities in Perth was 1979-80 in the immediate aftermath of the WSC split, when the schedule was also interspersed with three Tests against West Indies.

Apart from the one-off fixtures in Melbourne (1977) and Sydney (Bicentenary Test of 1980), every other Australia-England men's contest since 1936-37 has begun at the Gabba.