Some of Australia’s biggest cricket names left disappointed at newly released fixture dates

Australia’s cricketers have reacted to a key change to the Test calendar, which has left some of the game’s biggest names disappointed, and concerned about the impact it could have.

Australian cricket captain Alyssa Healy admits it’s “bittersweet” that the upcoming Future Tours Programme (FTP) will see home internationals played outside of the school holiday window as a result of priority being given to an Indian domestic tournament.

The FTP for 2025-2029 was released last week by the ICC with clear windows put in place for high-profile domestic white-ball tournaments. That includes the WBBL with no international cricket scheduled in November in 2025, 2026 and 2027.

There is also an increase in the number of Test matches the Australian side will play, including a historic multi-format series away against the West Indies in 2026.

However, that has come at the expense of the Australian international home summer with the Women’s Premier League in India shifting to January from 2026 onwards. As a result, Australia’s home multi-format series against India in 2026 won’t commence until the second week of February.

Home matches for the Australian women’s side will begin in mid-February from 2026 onwards. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

It’s a similar story in 2027 and 2028 for the series against New Zealand and South Africa.

The decision comes at a time when crowds for women’s cricket in Australia have fallen behind both England and India. The upcoming Ashes series has been scheduled to address that problem with a return to marquee venues such as the MCG, SCG and Adelaide Oval. That series will start on January 12 with the first ODI at North Sydney Oval.

But Healy believes that it will be disappointing that this year’s Ashes will be the last Australian series featuring cricket in the school holiday period for the foreseeable future.

“It’s probably a little bit bittersweet,” Healy said.

Tomorrow marks 90 days until the historic day-night Ashes Test match at the @MCG.

As we build towards this occasion, we'll be celebrating the history, the icons and the moments that have defined the 90-year history of women's Test cricket! pic.twitter.com/No27WyvdoG

— Australian Women's Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) October 31, 2024

“To see the franchise windows come back in and making sure that the WBBL has a clear window and we’re getting the best international players who want to be involved in our competition, I think, was a real highlight for me.

“Eight Tests in four years as well in the calendar for the Aussie team is a really nice shift as well.

“But I feel like we just got (the schedule) right and we’re going to test it out this year, the January-early February with the Ashes series, I thought that was going to be a really cool timeslot.

“Shifting now to late February-March will be interesting to see what that looks like and how it affects our team. It’d be nice as an Aussie team to play at home in front of some fans in our home summer, but we’ll have to see how that unfolds over the next four or five years.”

The lucrative WPL in India is set to move to January from 2026 onwards, leaving Australia’s women’s side out of their usual spot in the calendar. Picture: Sajjad Hussain/AFP

Former Australian captain Meg Lanning echoed Healy’s sentiments and felt that it would take some adjusting for cricket fans in Australia. In particular, she believed moving the fixtures closer to the start of the winter codes would make it harder for cricket to stand on its own.

“You do look at Jan and Feb as the main cricket windows so it’s gonna take some adapting,” Lanning said.

“The key is going to be trying to market those games and ensure we continue to get the support that we have and we’ve built over a long period.

“Once you get towards the back end of the summer, it can be challenging to do that. We’re hitting footy season as well, so that’s going to be an interesting part of it.

“Hopefully, we can still get some really good support and crowds for the games, because I think there’s been a lot of work gone into that over a long period of time to try and build a really good foundation.”

A Cricket Australia spokesperson confirmed that the organisation was overwhelmingly positive that the WBBL had been given a clear window to grow as one of the world’s best domestic women’s leagues.

“We’re really pleased the ICC continues to provide a clear window for the WBBL as that competition continues to grow,” the statement read.

“The FTP is about maximising opportunities for women to play the best competitions possible while continuing to prioritise international cricket.

“We have some really exciting series across the new FTP at home and away and we’re focused on making sure they are a great success.”

Originally published as Some of Australia’s biggest cricket names left disappointed at newly released fixture dates