Cricket News: Summer centrepieces set to stay in, as 2025 Gabba Test could be its last

Marquee summer Tests have staved off interstate threats and are set to stay for the long haul, but the Gabba has not been so lucky, as Cricket Australia unveils its long term Test schedule.

The flagship Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests are poised to remain in their traditional homes until next decade but Brisbane and Perth have been put on a shorter leash as Cricket Australia prepares to unveil its partial men’s home Test calendar for the next seven seasons.

Adelaide’s shift to a regular December slot is set to be confirmed, while the MCG’s double-up in 2026-2027 is also a goer with the 150-year anniversary Test between Australia and England set to push a series with Bangladesh to later in 2027.

Despite periodic threats from interstate raiders to poach either of the two centrepiece Tests of the summer, the MCG and SCG are respectively set to keep the Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests that have been staples of the Aussie summers for decades until the end of the 2030-31 season, a period that includes two men’s Ashes series and two Border-Gavaskar Trophy series - including one this summer - against India.

The South Australian government has also penned a long-term deal with CA, with Adelaide Oval - the traditional venue for day-night Test cricket in Australia - also securing December pre-Christmas Tests until the 2030-31 season.

Could the end of Test cricket at the Gabba be nearing? Picture: AAP Image

CA’s efforts to build a marquee “West Test” in Perth will continue with Perth Stadium to host the opening Test of the next three summers against India, England and New Zealand. Unlike the India and England five-match rubbers, the Black Caps have been earmarked for four Tests ahead of the Aussie men touring India for five Tests across that January and February.

The relatively short-term nature of that deal with the West Australian government leaves Perth auditioning to keep the opening spot that has traditionally been the domain of the Gabba. But if that leaves WA in a spot of slight limbo, it is nothing compared to the uncertainty surrounding the Brisbane Test, given the state of flux around any potential redevelopment of the Gabba after plans to rebuild the venue for the 2032 Olympics were abandoned earlier this year.

The SCG will host the New Year’s Test until the 2031-31 summer. Picture: Tom Parrish

Brisbane has instead been signed on just a two-year deal and seems unlikely to feature in the Test summer of 2026-27, potentially meaning the Ashes late next year is the Gabba’s last ever Test.

With Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney earmarked for Trans-Tasman Tests that season, the fifth Australian home Test will come off-peak in March to mark the anniversary of the first Test in 1877.

Queensland is however likely to host Test cricket later in 2027, with the Bangladesh Tests - scheduled for March 2027 under the ICC’s future tours program - to be pushed much later in the year, likely after the World Test Championship final and Ashes series in what is shaping as a monster year of Test cricket for the Aussies.

Tasmania, the NT the ACT will likely need to work around the periphery after being bypassed for Test commitments under the new plan. The planned new stadium at Hobart’s Macquarie Point - designed for the Tassie AFL team - could make history by becoming the first roofed stadium to host Test cricket.

The ACT is also pushing to be included in the Big Bash League.

Originally published as Cricket News: Summer centrepieces set to stay in, as 2025 Gabba Test could be its last