Australian cricket summer 2026-27: full schedule
England's white-ball tour, four Tests against New Zealand and a pink-ball 150th anniversary Test at the MCG: the whole 2026-27 home summer, date by date.
Australia's 2026-27 home summer started early, with Tests against Bangladesh in Darwin and Mackay in August, and it runs all the way to a one-off Test against England in March. Cricket Australia has called it the most crowded schedule it has ever put together. Here is what is left on the calendar as of 23 October 2026, with every men's and women's international date, venue and start time in AEDT.
England's white-ball tour in November
England arrive first for three one-day internationals and five T20 internationals, a few weeks before the Test summer starts. The ODIs begin in Perth on 13 November and the T20 leg moves around the country, finishing at Manuka Oval in Canberra on 2 December, a week before the first Test.
The Gabba gets a T20I on 27 November, and the Gold Coast has a game three days earlier. Adelaide and Hobart's ODIs are day-night matches.
Four Tests against New Zealand
For the first time, a Trans-Tasman Test series runs to four matches. It was first planned as three and later extended. All four are day Tests, they are packed into 31 days, and the Black Caps go straight into the Perth Test with no warm-up game.
Perth's Test starts on Wednesday 9 December. That is the first time a summer Test in Perth has begun on a weekday, because the schedule had no room to push it back. Adelaide follows from 17 December, then the Boxing Day Test at the MCG and the New Year Test at the SCG from 4 January. For a quick rundown of the Boxing Day venue, see our MCG guide.
Why there is no Gabba Test
This is the first Australian summer since 1976-77 without a Test in Brisbane. Queensland Cricket has blamed the uncertainty over the stadium's future after the state government dropped plans to rebuild it, along with the planning for the 2032 Olympics. It has also acknowledged that the big grounds in other states are now seen as better commercial options for Test cricket. Brisbane still has the 27 November T20I against England and its Big Bash games, and Mackay hosted the August Test that would once have gone to the Gabba.
The 150th anniversary Test at the MCG
The first Test was played between Australia and England at the MCG in March 1877. The two teams return to the same ground from 11 to 15 March 2027 to mark 150 years. It will be a day-night match with the pink ball, starting at 2pm AEDT each day, and it is the only pink-ball Test of the summer. Cricket Australia ran a public ballot for tickets for the first time, and most of the public allocation for days one to three has gone.
Between the SCG Test and the March match, the Test squad heads to India for a five-Test series from 21 January to 3 March, starting in Nagpur and finishing in Ahmedabad.
Women's internationals
The Australian women's team plays no Test at home this summer, the first time that has happened since the pandemic seasons. Cricket Australia wanted one against New Zealand, but New Zealand Cricket said no. Bangladesh played three ODIs at Allan Border Field and three T20Is at North Sydney Oval in October, their first bilateral women's series in Australia, and New Zealand visit in late February and March for three T20Is and three ODIs. Junction Oval in Melbourne, which now has lights, hosts women's internationals again. There are no women's games in Western Australia this season.
Full schedule
| Date | Match | Venue | Start (AEDT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 13 November | 1st ODI v England | Perth Stadium | 2.30pm |
| Sun 15 November | 2nd ODI v England (day-night) | Adelaide Oval | 2.30pm |
| Wed 18 November | 3rd ODI v England (day-night) | Bellerive Oval, Hobart | 2.30pm |
| Sat 21 November | 1st T20I v England | MCG | 7.15pm |
| Tue 24 November | 2nd T20I v England | Gold Coast Stadium | 7.15pm |
| Fri 27 November | 3rd T20I v England | The Gabba, Brisbane | 7.15pm |
| Sun 29 November | 4th T20I v England | SCG | 7.15pm |
| Wed 2 December | 5th T20I v England | Manuka Oval, Canberra | 7.15pm |
| 9 to 13 December | 1st Test v New Zealand | Perth Stadium | 1.20pm |
| 17 to 21 December | 2nd Test v New Zealand | Adelaide Oval | 11.30am |
| 26 to 30 December | 3rd Test v New Zealand | MCG | 10.30am |
| 4 to 8 January | 4th Test v New Zealand | SCG | 10.30am |
| Sun 21 February | Women's 1st T20I v New Zealand | North Sydney Oval | 1.30pm |
| Wed 24 February | Women's 2nd T20I v New Zealand | Manuka Oval, Canberra | 7.15pm |
| Fri 26 February | Women's 3rd T20I v New Zealand | Junction Oval, Melbourne | 7.15pm |
| Mon 1 March | Women's 1st ODI v New Zealand (day-night) | Junction Oval, Melbourne | 2.50pm |
| Fri 5 March | Women's 2nd ODI v New Zealand (day-night) | Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide | 2.50pm |
| Sun 7 March | Women's 3rd ODI v New Zealand (day-night) | Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide | 2.50pm |
| 11 to 15 March | 150th anniversary Test v England (day-night) | MCG | 2pm |
Local start times are earlier in Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Adelaide. The Perth Test, for example, starts at 10.20am local time.
Big Bash League and WBBL
WBBL|12 starts on 29 October with the final set for 5 December. BBL|16 runs from 12 December to 26 January. Its first game is in Chennai, India, where the Melbourne Renegades play the Perth Scorchers, the first BBL match ever played outside Australia. The first game at home is the Brisbane Heat against the Sydney Sixers at the Gabba on 15 December. Our Big Bash explainer covers how the season and finals work.
The Test summer overlaps with almost the entire BBL window, and the India tour starts five days before the BBL final. That leaves little room for Test players to turn out for their clubs. Mitchell Starc is a free agent and has been flagged as having limited availability because of the India tour, and Pat Cummins, who joined the Sydney Thunder as a marquee supplementary player, faces the same January squeeze. Clubs had not confirmed exact plans for their Test players when this was written.
Red-ball state cricket continues around all of this. Our Sheffield Shield guide explains that competition.
Where to watch
Men's Tests and all women's internationals are shown on both Seven and Foxtel, so they are on free-to-air TV, with streams on 7plus and Kayo. Men's ODIs and T20Is against England are exclusive to Foxtel and Kayo under the media rights deal that runs to 2031.
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