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Cricket Australia will soon announce an extra women's Test match for the summer in a boost for a generation of cricketers starved of red-ball action.
Australia's women's cricket team are on the verge of locking in a two-Test summer for the first time in 19 years.
A generation of cricketers have had limited experience in red-ball matches but that will slowly start to change.
Cricket Australia is finalising dates for India's tour down under later this year, with fixtures almost certainly to include a Test match.
It will mark just the second women's Test between Australia and India since 1991.
Not since 2002-03 when Australia battled England in two Ashes Tests has there been more than one long-format international women's match.
"As players we've said for a long time now we'd love to play more Test matches," Australia captain Meg Lanning said.
"There's been some discussions going about a potential one with India Hopefully it does get up, it's an exciting prospect.
"It's always one of the highlights of the summer when we know we get to play a Test match."
Interim CA chief executive Nick Hockley said discussions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India are "well advanced".
"I think it is going to happen," Hockley said.
"We're just working through the finer details of the dates and the logistics as we speak."
The multi-format series will get the summer underway, before players again don the whites against England following the women's Big Bash League.
Manuka Oval will host the women's Ashes Test on January 27-30.
Three T20s between Australia and England will be played at North Sydney Oval (February 4 and 6) and Adelaide Oval (February 10).
ODIs at Adelaide Oval (February 13) and Melbourne's Junction Oval (February 16 and 19) will conclude the seven-match series.
Australia have not played in Melbourne since last year's Twenty20 World Cup final, when a crowd of 86,174 fans turned up at the MCG.
Melbourne Cricket Club boss Stuart Fox admits he would "love to see more of Meg's team" at the MCG.
"That (the T20 final) was one of the best events I've ever seen at this place; pretty special and we would love to see more women's cricket at the 'G," he said.
