3 minute read
Cricket Australia has announced its 2019-20 international schedule, which will finish with a trans-Tasman ODI series in mid-March.
The stars are aligning for the next Big Bash League season to finish with a bang as Cricket Australia (CA) bank on the Twenty20 competition to capture the public's imagination in an otherwise barren January.
CA has released its 2019-20 international schedule, with a notable two-month gap between men's matches at home.
Australia will host New Zealand in a Perth day-night Test that starts on December 12 then showpiece MCG and SCG Tests.
The trans-Tasman rivalry will continue during an ODI at the SCG but not until March 13, with both teams touring India soon after the third Test.
CA's preference was to hold the trans-Tasman ODI series in January but, its hand forced by India, has since made BBL player availability a priority.
Australia's three-match tour of India, initially expected to run until late January, is set to start earlier and it means Steve Smith and other superstars could be back in the BBL for the Australia Day long weekend.
Australia were slated to tour Bangladesh and South Africa in February, but the former has been postponed until June while dates for the latter are yet to be agreed.
It means the nation's best should be available - along with potential big-name signings AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Andre Russell - for the business end of the BBL.
"It's something that we're really aiming towards. We want to make sure that the BBL finals is an appropriate crescendo," CA executive and former BBL boss Anthony Everard said
"We saw this year, having the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch available for the final and what that did in terms of the quality of the cricket."
In a cricketing sense, the BBL will be the only show in town for the majority of January.
CA made the women's T20 World Cup, which hopes to attract a sold-out crowd to the MCG final on March 8, a priority in scheduling but that event doesn't start until February 21.
The pressure was already on the BBL to deliver, in terms of crowd sizes and TV numbers, after a season that prompted criticism from pundits, players, broadcasters and fans.
Tuesday's confirmation there will be no international fixture in Australia on January 26 for the first time since 1994 will only intensify those expectations.
"Australia Day presents a really great opportunity for cricket," Everard said.
"It's a long weekend and we've got a variety of BBL games that we can schedule - not just in one market."
Meanwhile, the Gabba has reclaimed its spot as the traditional Test opener after being overlooked for last year's series against India.
Australia's two-Test series against Pakistan will start in Brisbane on November 21.
"It's certainly pretty clear that our playing group believe it's a great place to start the summer," CA's head of operations Peter Roach said.
