Cricket Australia unveils schedule of domestic cricket for 2023-24
Jul 15, 2023
Melbourne [Australia], July 15 : Cricket Australia unveiled its full domestic schedule for 2023-24 summer on Friday.
Australia A will host New Zealand A in two four-day games, including a day-night pink ball match, and three 50-over matches in Queensland in August and September, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Australia A toured New Zealand in April for two four-day games, and a return series has been locked in for August and September in Brisbane and Mackay in Queensland.
Prior to Australia's first Test of the home summer against Pakistan in Perth on December 14, CA also announced a four-day Prime Minister's XI match against Pakistan at Canberra's Manuka Oval. Prior to the first Test of a two-Test series against Australia starting at Adelaide Oval on January 17, West Indies will also play a CA XI in a four-day tour game beginning on January 10 at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide.
The Sheffield Shield season will run from October 3, 2023, until the final on March 21-25, 2024. There will be six Shield rounds before the first Test but the last of those six games begins on November 28 to accommodate the BBL starting earlier on December 7.
As a result, it's possible that Australia's multi-format players won't get a chance to play in a red-ball match prior to the Pakistan Test series because India will host the 50-over World Cup from October 5 through November 19. Following the World Cup, Australia is expected to stay in India and play a five-match T20I series there before hosting Pakistan in a test series.
There won't be a complete 10-round home-and-away season for the Marsh Cup 50-over competition; instead, there will be an eight-game tournament with some games also taking place at neutral sites. On September 24, Western Australia will face Queensland at Allan Border Field to start their bid for a third straight championship. The majority of the Marsh Cup matchups will take place before the BBL, with each state's final two contests occurring after the BBL's conclusion in late January. On February 25, there will be a Marsh Cup championship game.
The WNCL championship game will take place on February 23. On September 22, the women's domestic season will start at Cricket Central, Cricket New South Wales' new venue at Sydney Olympic Park. This summer, the location will host WNCL, WBBL, Marsh Cup games in addition to its first-ever first-class match, which will see NSW meet Queensland in the Sheffield Shield season's opening round. As part of the CA's campaign to have more domestic women's matches on the larger international grounds, Adelaide Oval will also host a day-night WNCL match between South Australia and Victoria on January 29.
Prior to the women's tournament, the Governor General's XI will play a game against South Africa's women on January 24 at North Sydney Oval.