Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has been selected to host the only Test match of next year’s Women’s Ashes, more than 75 years after the venue last staged an Australian women’s Test in 1949.
The 100,024-seat stadium will host the four-day match between Australia and visitors England from January 30 to February 2, which will serve as the final meeting between the two in the series.
The single Test will also mark 90 years since the first women’s Test series between Australia and England in 1934-1935.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for the team to play at such an iconic Australian cricket venue and in such a big occasion like an Ashes series,” said Australian all-rounder Elyse Perry, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
“I think we all saw that fixture and thought what an amazing opportunity and how much possibility that also carries in terms of what it could do for the game.”
It is said that the Australian team was eager to play at the WACA Ground in Perth after success in a recent outing against South Africa.
However, Cricket Australia’s head of scheduling Peter Roach claims that the MCG’s pitch has shown similar pace and bounce in men’s Test cricket in recent years so should be an equally good surface.
The match will also be the first day-night Test at the MCG.
The 2025 Women’s Ashes will begin at the North Sydney Oval on January 12 with the start of the One Day International series. The other two one-day matches are taking place on January 14 and 17 at the Junction Oval in Melbourne and Hobart’s Bellerive Oval, respectively.
January 20, 23, and 25 will then see a three-match T20 series played at Sydney Cricket Ground, Manuka Oval in Canberra, and the Adelaide Oval before the Test match.
