Sydney, Mar 11 (UNI) Arch-rivals Australia and England will play a historic one-off day-night Test match to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first Test match.
The historic pink-ball Test between the two will be played between March 11-15, 2027 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a statement from Cricket Australia confirmed on Tuesday.
This will make it the first instance of Australia’s men’s team playing a pink-ball Test at the MCG.
Earlier this year, Australia women had contested in the first-ever day-night Test at the venue, coincidentally against England in the Women’s Ashes.
MCG is also the venue where Australia and England had played the Centenary Test back in 1977, with the hosts emerging victorious by 45 runs.
The two rivals had played a second centenary Test in 1980 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground to commemorate the first test between the two nations in England back in 1880, an ICC report said.
“The 150th Anniversary Test at the MCG will be one of the great cricket events and playing under lights will be a fantastic way to celebrate both our game’s rich heritage and Test cricket’s modern evolution,” Todd Greenberg, Cricket Australia CEO stated.
“It will also help ensure more people are able to attend and watch what will be a fantastic occasion,” he said.
“The Centenary Test created many iconic performances including David Hookes’ five consecutive boundaries off Tony Greig, Rick McCosker batting with a broken jaw and Derek Randall’s defiant century, and I’m sure the 150th Test will create its own lifelong memories,” Greenberg added.
