Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Olympics
Football
Netball
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Full Noise by SN
Live EPL this MondayCondensed schedule revealed for Blackcaps Test tour of Australia
Scott Bailey, AAP • March 22nd, 2026 9:00 pm
Photo: Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Cricket Australia has been forced into starting the core part of its Test summer in Perth on a Wednesday, as a result of a congested schedule.
Officials on Sunday unveiled one of cricket's more complicated fixture lists, with Test tours of South Africa and India breaking up a home schedule that starts in August and ends in March.
Australia will host Bangladesh in two Top-End Tests in Darwin and Mackay, before the summer ends with a day-night 150-year anniversary match against England at the MCG.
But it is the main four-Test series against New Zealand that will raise the most eyebrows, with the entire affair over within just 31 days.
Australia will host the Blackcaps in the first Test in Perth starting on December 9 | Photo: James Worsfold/AAP
Fresh off their own Test series in India, the Blackcaps will arrive in Australia with no time for a warm-up match before the first Test in Perth on December 9.
That in itself could present a challenge for the tourists, with England caught on the back foot for the Ashes after going without a warm-up fixture last summer.
The NZ series also falls in Australia's busiest ever 12 months of cricket, with up to 21 Tests between this August and next July.
The trans-Tasman series was initially only slated for three Tests, but the addition of a fourth means the longest gap between any Test stands at just four days.
Ajaz Patel finally gets his first Test wicket on NZ soil | Sport Nation Cricket
There is also no ability for officials to create a bigger gap by pushing back the end, with Australia to fly out for a five-Test series of India shortly after the SCG Test.
That has forced CA into starting the summer on a Wednesday in Perth, where they drew just 10,929 for day one when they last did so against West Indies in 2022.
Officials will desperately hope the match goes into at least a fourth day and the weekend, after last year's two-day affair against England.
CA's head of operations Peter Roach confirmed there had been a push to move the Perth Test back one day, but that was not possible with player workloads.
"To gain one extra day would probably mean that we don't see bowlers in certain Tests when we otherwise might," Roach said.
"If we were on spinning wickets in the subcontinent you can probably squeeze it together ... but we know we're a Test series that relies on fast bowlers.
"Especially in this period where (Australia) has 21 Tests in a year, the cumulative effect is really important to look out for."
As previously announced, the Gabba has missed out on a Test, with Adelaide to host the second match after Perth before Melbourne and Sydney.
All four of the New Zealand Tests will be day fixtures, with the only pink-ball match the 150-year anniversary Test against England at the MCG.
Blackcaps Test tour of Australia
1st Test: December 9-13, Perth Stadium
2nd Test: December 17-21, Adelaide Oval
3rd Test: December 26-30, Melbourne Cricket Ground
4th Test: January 4-8, Sydney Cricket Ground
2nd Test: December 17-21, Adelaide Oval
3rd Test: December 26-30, Melbourne Cricket Ground
4th Test: January 4-8, Sydney Cricket Ground
10 wickets fall on Day 5 for the Blackcaps to claim Test series victory over West Indies | Sport Nation Cricket
