Australia’s Test Summer Forced Into Midweek Start as Jam‑Packed Schedule Sparks Concerns

Cricket Australia has been pushed into an unusual move this year, starting the core of its Test summer on a Wednesday in Perth, a decision driven by what officials admit is the most congested cricket calendar the sport has ever seen.

The packed schedule stretching from August to March has created one of the most complex fixture lists in recent memory, squeezed further by Test tours of South Africa and India.

Australia will open its home season with two Top‑End Tests against Bangladesh in Darwin and Mackay, before closing the summer with a special day‑night 150‑year anniversary Test against England at the MCG. But it’s the four‑Test series against New Zealand that is already raising eyebrows, with the entire contest crammed into just 31 days.

Fresh from a Test tour of India, New Zealand will arrive in Australia with no warm‑up match before the opening Test in Perth on December 9 a scenario that proved costly for England during last year’s Ashes. The tight turnaround is part of Australia’s busiest 12‑month period ever, with up to 21 Tests scheduled between this August and next July.

The trans‑Tasman series was originally planned as three Tests, but the late addition of a fourth has left the longest break between matches at just four days. There’s no room to extend the series either, with Australia set to fly out for a five‑Test tour of India immediately after the SCG Test.

That pressure has forced CA to begin the Perth Test midweek a move that previously drew just 10,929 fans on day one in 2022. Officials will be hoping the match stretches into the weekend, unlike last year’s two‑day collapse against England.

CA’s head of operations, Peter Roach, said they explored pushing the Perth Test back by a day but ultimately couldn’t risk overloading fast bowlers.

“To gain one extra day would probably mean that we don’t see bowlers in certain Tests when we otherwise might,” he said. “Especially in this period where Australia has 21 Tests in a year, the cumulative effect is really important to look out for.”

As confirmed earlier, the Gabba has again missed out on hosting a Test, with Adelaide taking the second match after Perth, followed by the traditional Melbourne and Sydney fixtures.