Blackcaps to play tests at hallowed SCG, MCG during three-match series

Blackcaps skipper Kane Williamson.
Blackcaps skipper Kane Williamson. Photo credit: Getty

The Blackcaps will grace the hallowed cricketing turfs of Melbourne and Sydney, when they tour Australia starting December.

Cricket Australia (CA) has confirmed the summer schedule for the 2019/20 season, which sees New Zealand play three tests against the hosts.

Perth's Optus Stadium will host a day-night test beginning December 12, before New Zealand's first Boxing Day test since 1987 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The sides will then travel to Sydney Cricket Ground for the final test, starting January 3.

The Blackcaps will return to Australia in March for a three-match ODI series with two games in Sydney and one in Hobart.

CA hoped to schedule the trans-Tasman ODI series in January, but the Australian team will instead travel to the subcontinent during that month, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refusing to budge on dates.

"We evaluated different options for an alternative and saw the most value in the March opportunity," said CA's head of cricket operations Peter Roach.

"Cricket Australia took the position that while January was our preference for these ODI matches, there are times we need to honour our commitments to work in the greater context of international cricket scheduling.

"Scheduling international cricket is challenging in that nine of the 10 major cricketing countries have seasons similar to ours, so working with them to find space in the calendar to fulfil our obligations to the ICC Future Tours Programme is a juggling act."

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