Gabba earmarked for day-night Test as Big Bash League likely to shrink

Next cricket season will look significantly different to usual. DANIEL CHERNY has the details ahead of Cricket Australia’s schedule releases.

Changes to the length of the Big Bash will be brought forward a year. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

The pink ball is again poised to be unleashed in Brisbane with the Gabba being earmarked to host its first day-night Test in five years as part of a summer shake-up.

Meanwhile the reduction of the Big Bash League is likely to be expedited with the tournament expected to be cut by around a quarter one year ahead of schedule.

Cricket Australia is in the advanced stages of preparing its international schedule for the 2023-24 season, one which will look unconventional because of the Australian men’s white-ball commitments in India which extend into five Twenty20 matches in December on the back of a 50-over World Cup.

While CA would not confirm details of the schedule on Tuesday, industry sources indicated that the men’s home Test summer was likely to begin in mid-to-late December in Perth with the first of three Tests against Pakistan.

Melbourne and Sydney will then host their traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests before Pakistan make way for the West Indies, who are returning for a second Frank Worrell Trophy series in as many summers under a quirk of the ICC’s future tours program.

The 2022-23 Test against South Africa at the Gabba lasted less than two days. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

The Windies are set to again play in Adelaide, but this time in a more fan-friendly mid-January school holidays spot and as a day match before the Test summer wraps up in Brisbane in late January with a day-night Test.

The Windies are then scheduled to play three one-day internationals and three T20s against Australia before the Aussie men tour New Zealand for two Tests and three T20s.

While it is still not official, cricket sources expect the BBL to move back to a 10 match per team season (plus finals), down from 14, next summer, one year ahead of its mandate truncation under the new broadcast rights deal.

However while the BBL is likely to be shorter in terms of games, Perth’s Test – which stretches into the evening on the Eastern Seaboard – will limit the capacity for prime time games before Christmas.

It appears Cricket Australia will not yet reduce the number of WBBL matches. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images for Cricket Australia

Meanwhile sources expect the Women’s Big Bash League to remain at 14 games per team plus finals next season despite debate within CA and its states around whether to reduce the tournament in line with the men’s event.

Under the FTP, the Aussie women are in for a relatively busy season, scheduled to face the Windies in home white-ball series before the WBBL, before a multi-format tour of India, a home multi-format series against South Africa and a tour of Bangladesh.

While Adelaide Oval has been the traditional domain of men’s day-night Tests in Australia, the Gabba has hosted two pink ball Tests of its own: in December 2016 featuring Pakistan and most recently around the Australia Day weekend of 2019 involving Sri Lanka.

Originally published as Gabba earmarked for day-night Test as Big Bash League likely to shrink