Australia to gear up for World T20 in Caribbean with three-match series against White Ferns
Women to open international summer
Australia's women will fine-tune for this year's World T20 campaign with a three-match T20 series against New Zealand to open the 2018-19 international summer.
The Southern Stars get top billing in the full international fixtures list for the coming summer that were released today by Cricket Australia. The fixtures also includes men's series against South Africa, India and Sri Lanka.
The opening match against the White Ferns will be played on September 29, and will mark the first international cricket televised under CA's new $1.2bn broadcast rights deal, with live coverage on Seven and Foxtel.
The match will be played under lights at North Sydney Oval, and will immediately follow Seven's coverage of the AFL grand final.
Image Id: 90AE5C4E8B52459EA8ACC8AB92CAF267The T20s against New Zealand will be played at North Sydney Oval, Allan Border Field and Manuka Oval.
After that series the Australians will head overseas to play matches against Pakistan in the UAE ahead of the World T20 in the Caribbean. The tournament hosted by the West Indies will run from November 9-24 with matches to be played in Guyana, St Lucia and Antigua.
The Australians will then play a three-match ODI series against the White Ferns in February, which will be the final internationals of the home season.
The 50-over component of the summer starts with the first ODI at the WACA Ground on February 22.
Image Id: D62E65185116435695CE9508ACCD4AC6The series moves to Adelaide and the recently renamed Karen Rolton Oval (formerly known as Park 25) on February 24. The Governor-General's XI match will be played at Drummoyne Oval on February 28, before the final ODI at Melbourne's Junction Oval on March 3.
"We're very pleased to announce yet another exciting summer of international cricket, with four highly-regarded nations in New Zealand, South Africa, India and Sri Lanka touring Australia," CA chief executive James Sutherland said.
"It's a summer which will contain plenty of high-quality cricket, and some exciting new additions to the Australian cricket calendar.
"Overall, there are more international matches being played across more locations around the country than in previous years, and we believe this program has something for all cricket fans.
"It also promises to be a big summer for our Australia Women's team, which will open the international summer ahead of their ICC Women's World Twenty20 campaign in the West Indies in November.
"Building on the success and huge public interest around the Commonwealth Bank Women's Ashes last season, it is great to have our national team playing trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in six matches, all at different venues meaning the team will be accessible to fans right across the country."
Image Id: B6DFA048B9664100AC50CED3EE08EDB7Australia snapped a string of five consecutive T20 series defeats in March, with a convincing victory in a tri-series held in India that also featured England.
A thumping 57-run win against England in the Mumbai final was the Southern Stars' first T20 silverware since August 2015.
It provided a timely boost for the Aussies heading into a World T20 campaign where they will be seeking a fourth win in five attempts.
Australia won the World T20 tournament in 2010, 2012 and 2014, but lost the final of the 2016 edition to the West Indies.
The Southern Stars will spend the winter months at regular training camps at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane as they prepare for the home summer and Caribbean trip.
Public tickets for the women's international matches will on sale in August, with men's internationals on sale in June. Members of the Australian Cricket Family will again enjoy priority access to tickets. Join here.
2018-19 International Schedule
Commonwealth Bank Women’s Series v New Zealand
First T20: North Sydney Oval, September 29
Second T20: Allan Border Field, Brisbane, October 1
Third T20: Manuka Oval, Canberra, October 5
First ODI: WACA Ground, February 22
Second ODI: Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide, February 24
Tour match: GG's XI v NZ, Drummoyne Oval, February 28
Third ODI: Junction Oval, Melbourne, March 3
Gillette Series v South Africa
Tour match: PM's XI v South Africa, Manuka Oval, Canberra, October 31
First ODI: Perth Stadium, November 4
Second ODI: Adelaide Oval, November 9
Third ODI: Blundstone Arena, Hobart, November 11
Only T20: Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast, November 17
India Men’s tour of Australia
First T20: Gabba, November 21
Second T20: MCG, November 23
Third T20: SCG, November 25
First Test: Adelaide Oval, December 6-10
Second Test: Perth Stadium, December 14-18
Third Test: MCG, December 26-30
Fourth Test: SCG, January 3-7
First ODI: SCG, January 12
Second ODI: Adelaide Oval, January 15
Third ODI: MCG, January 18
Sri Lanka Men’s tour of Australia
First Test: Gabba, January 24-28 (D/N)
Second Test: Manuka Oval, February 1-5