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Matthew Kuhnemann will proceed with imminent tests on his bowling action, despite a thumb injury ruling him out of Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield clash with South Australia.One week after being cited by ICC officials for having a suspect action, Kuhnemann was expected to return to cricket for Tasmania in Adelaide on Tuesday. But those plans have since been scuppered, with the spinner not medically cleared to play for Tasmania after the dislocated thumb he suffered in the BBL.AAP understands Kuhnemann has not suffered a fresh injury, and the decision is a precautionary one after he played through the issue in Galle.Despite sitting out the Adelaide match, Kuhnemann will be required to complete ICC testing in the next fortnight because the injury is not on his bowling (left) hand. Officials have remained tight-lipped on the details surrounding Kuhnemann’s test for the sake of his privacy, but it is expected to go ahead in the next fortnight.Related

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The biomechanical testing will also be able to be completed at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, despite the ICC preferring players head overseas for assessment.Kuhnemann will complete the tests under the watchful eye of ICC body experts, with markers on his arm and several cameras filming. He will need to bowl at a similar speed and with similar ball revolutions to what he did in Sri Lanka, where he took 16 wickets at an average of 17.18.The ICC will then take a matter of weeks to determine if Kuhnemann’s action is legal, or if his arm straightens by more than the allowable 15 degrees. The 28-year-old is believed to be in reasonably good spirits, with questions still circling about the timing of him being reported after eight years in professional cricket.”All we can do as a group is throw our support behind him,” Tasmania captain Jordan Silk said. “He has obviously had a fantastic couple of weeks away with the Aussie side, and was a big factor in them wining that series over there.”It’s come as a shock to a lot of people, but all we can do as an organisation is wrap our arms around him and look forward to having him back around the group.”Silk echoed the words of stand-in Australia captain Steve Smith, believing Kuhnemann would be cleared by the tests.ICC rules allow bowlers to play domestic cricket while under the microscope, but ban them from international matches. If Kuhnemann is cleared he will be able to continue bowling, but if he fails the test he will be banned until he can prove he has changed his action to meet guidelines.”He’s still a quality bowler for us and someone we expect to have an impact later in the year,” Silk said. “We’re really confident that process will go smoothly and we can welcome him back to our change-rooms and have him be a big part of our season.”A win for Tasmania against table-topping South Australia would keep them in the race for a spot in the Shield final, with one win separating second and sixth on the ladder.Beyond this summer, Kuhnemann would be a strong chance to be in Australia’s squad for the tour of West Indies in June, if his action is cleared.

WPL 2025 will begin on February 14, a week later than earlier planned, with Gujarat Giants hosting defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the newly built BCA stadium in Vadodara. As ESPNcricinfo had reported earlier, Lucknow is the other new venue for the upcoming season, with Mumbai and Bengaluru to host matches as well.After the first six games in Vadodara, the tournament will move to Bengaluru for the next eight matches. Lucknow will then host four games before the last leg in Mumbai. Mumbai will also stage four games, including the Eliminator on March 13 and the final on March 15 – all at the CCI stadium.RCB will play four games at their home venue, the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which drew boisterous crowds last season. As for the UP Warriorz, they will play three games at their home base, Lucknow. Delhi Capitals are the only team who don’t have home games in the five-team tournament.Related

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Just like the previous season, all matches will be single-headers.In the new women’s FTP, a separate window has been allocated for the WPL, the most lucrative women’s franchise league.The WPL 2025 auction, which was held in December last year, turned out to be a big deal for uncapped Indian players, with Simran Shaikh, the Mumbai allrounder, fetching the highest bid of NR 1.9 crore (USD 223,000 approx).RCB had clinched their first WPL title in 2024 after beating Capitals by eight wickets in Delhi.

Only 33.1 overs were possible on what may have been the stop-startiest day in the history of Test cricket, featuring as many as eight stoppages for rain, but Australia kept alive their hopes of going 2-1 up with two days remaining at the Gabba. They stretched their first-innings total to 445 on the morning of day three before Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins ripped out India’s top order over the remainder of the day’s play, in between the many rain breaks.India went to stumps at 51 for 4, 394 runs adrift of Australia, and their first target when the Test match resumes will be to get to 246 to avoid the follow-on. If they get there, they dramatically improve their chances of getting to Melbourne with the series still level. Rain is expected on days four and five as well, so Australia may be battling time if they’re forced to bat again.Australia’s last three wickets added 40 runs to their overnight 405 for 7. There were brief spells of rain either side of the 17.1 overs they took to do so as well as one in between, after Jasprit Bumrah removed Pat Cummins to pick up his sixth wicket of the innings and his 50th in Tests in Australia. Alex Carey, who had raced to 45 on the evening of day two to keep Australia’s advantage intact after a three-wicket burst from Bumrah, brought up his half-century and played some resplendent strokes – including an effortless six over wide long-off off Akash Deep – before he was last out for 70. He was out to Akash Deep, who finally got a wicket with the 53rd false shot he had induced in the innings.Australia’s fast bowlers then began to show how much more they could get out of this Gabba surface than India’s quicks had managed, thanks to both home and height advantage, with all three of Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins measuring upwards of 6’5″. They often found seam movement when they hit the pitch on a length or back of it, and occasionally awkward bounce too, with Hazlewood striking KL Rahul’s wrist with his first ball of the match.By then, India were already one down, with Yashasvi Jaiswal having fallen second ball, flicking Starc uppishly and straight to Mitchell Marsh at square leg. Starc struck once more in his second over, slanting a full one away from Shubman Gill and inducing a drive away from the body with his head not on top of the ball. The ball flew quickly to the left of gully, and Marsh was once again in position to intercept it, this time with a spectacular dive to his left.As much as the ball was doing off the deck, both of India’s wickets had fallen to avoidable shots, and the trend continued when Kohli – who, in the previous over, had to react quickly to fend away a Starc lifter that leapt towards his head – drove loosely at a wide one from Hazlewood and edged behind, falling early once again in series marked by uncertainty outside off stump.Rain returned immediately after Kohli’s dismissal, prompting lunch to be taken early, and there was another interruption 11 balls after resumption. None of this was helping Australia’s victory push, but it was also keeping their fast bowlers fresh. It also meant India’s batters had to get their eye in multiple times.All this, and superb bowling, contributed to India’s next wicket, with Cummins slanting one across Rishabh Pant from over the wicket and landing it on the perfect line and length to draw an uncertain forward-defensive push. Australia have noted Pant’s tendency to aim down the ground while defending balls angled across him, rather than going with the angle and playing later and squarer on the off side. This particular ball threatened to swing back into Pant before nipping away off the pitch, and found his edge through to Carey.All through this, Rahul had batted with something approaching certainty, showing excellent judgment in the fourth-stump channel as well as a readiness – both in terms of intent and the timing of his weight transfer – to drive balls pitched up to him. Apart from one sliced effort that flew through the backward point region, he drove with certainty, picking up three fours through the covers on his way to 33 off 64 balls at stumps. With him was his captain Rohit Sharma, who was still to open his account.

Local replacement player Charis Bekker went from the pub to centre stage as Melbourne Renegades posted a 15-run WBBL win over arch-rivals Melbourne Stars.Bekker was playing just her second WBBL game after being called into the squad to replace injured spinner Sophie Molineux (knee). The 20-year-old didn’t let the big stage of a Melbourne derby faze her, returning the miserly figures of 1 for 9 from her four overs to be named player of the match.”It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” Bekker said. “I was at the pub a couple of days ago with my mates, and then got the call [to join the squad]. I played against the Scorchers which was really cool. And then hopped on a flight. It’s been really rushed.”Bekker’s maiden WBBL wicket was none other than superstar batter Meg Lanning.”Everyone was cheering me on, I was just trying to bowl my best ball, and it happened to be Meg Lanning, which was kind of awesome,” Bekker said.Deepti Sharma top-scored for Stars with 23. Georgia Wareham claimed the key wicket of captain Annabel Sutherland for 16. The result improved Renegades’ record to 3-3, while the Stars are now 2-3.Earlier, Renegades were struggling at 87 for 5 before Naomi Stalenberg (26 not out off 17 balls) and Nicole Faltum (29 off 23) added some handy runs to lift the total to 146 for 6.The Renegades were 54 for 2 after 10 overs when they took the power surge. Although Deandra Dottin fell for 7 shortly after, Renegades cracked 29 runs off the two overs. Alice Capsey and Wareham fell in quick succession before Stalenberg and Faltum steadied the ship with a 55-run stand.Stars’ run chase started slowly with the scoreboard reading 16 for 1 after five overs. Bhatia was lucky to still be there after being dropped by wicketkeeper Faltum in the first over when she was yet to score. The opener scored 22 off 26 balls, but the rest of her team-mates struggled for fluency as the required run rate ballooned out.Jemimah Rodrigues top-scored for Brisbane Heat•Getty Images

India starJemimah Rodrigues posted an impressive half-century as Brisbane Heat piled more misery on defending champions Adelaide Strikers in an eight-run win at the Gabba.Rodrigues anchored the Heat’s innings with 61 from 40 balls, belting seven fours and a six in her player-of-the-match performance. Opener Grace Harris (33 from 22) and captain Jess Jonassen (32 from 21) also provided handy knocks.In reply, Strikers were reduced to 16 for 3 in the fourth over before Bridget Patterson and Madeline Penna threatened to pull off a remarkable fightback. The unbeaten pair put on a 113-run stand for the fifth wicket – from just 62 balls – but weren’t quite able to drag their side over the line. It was the second-highest fifth-wicket stand in WBBL history.Strikers remain last on the table with a 1-4 record, while Heat (3-3) are right in the finals mix.

Dolphins ensured they did not bow out of the Champions Cup without a win, as they beat Lions by 16 runs in the last league game of the tournament.With Lions needing 81 from five overs with three wickets in hand, a Dolphins win seemed a mere formality. But Khushdil Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, batting with an injured knee, threatened to pull off a heist. The pair hit seven sixes and two fours in the next four overs to reduce the equation to 23 needed from the final over. But Abbas Afridi held his nerve to give his side a consolation win.It must have been a no-brainer for Dolphins to bat after winning the toss; the teams batting first are yet to lose a game in the tournament. Dolphins lost Sahibzada Farhan in the sixth over but Muhammad Hurraira and Muhammad Akhlaq added 77 in 10.1 overs to set the platform.Hurraira scored 47 off 41 balls and Akhlaq 52 off 50. After the two fell in quick succession, Umar Amin took over. Despite Lions making regular breakthroughs, he found enough support from the lower middle order to steer Dolphins ahead.By the time Amin fell, for 75 in the 42nd over, Dolphins had 275 on the board. Even though they were all out in the last over, they had posted a challenging 326.In response, Abdullah Shafique and Rohail Nazir gave Lions a steady start of 78 in 13.3 overs. Nazir was the aggressor, scoring 62 in 70 balls.After 22 overs, Lions were well placed on 125 for 1 but Saud Shakeel dismissed Nazir and Omair Yousuf in his back-to-back overs. That derailed Lions’ chase.Lions needed 100 in the last ten overs with four wickets in hand. Then, a Faheem Ashraf delivery hit Shaheen on the left knee and he had to retire hurt. He returned at the fall of the next wicket, in the 45th over, but struggled with running between the wickets.That did not seem to matter as he and Khushdil dealt in boundaries. Shaheen hit Mir Hamza for back-to-back sixes in the 47th over. Khushdil went one better against Abbas in the next. But despite their best efforts, Lions fell short of their target.

Lack of overs and suggestions that he is struggling with multiple injuries have raised questions about Shakib Al Hasan’s appearance in the ongoing Chennai Test against India. Shakib, who on Saturday became Bangladesh’s oldest Test cricketer, bowled seven overs on the third day after captain Najmul Hossain Shanto brought him into the attack belatedly. Shakib was uncharacteristically poor, with Rishabh Pant hitting him for six fours and two sixes.Shakib eventually finished with the most expensive match figures of his Test career. It was also only the fifth time that Shakib had gone wicketless in a Test after bowling at least 20 overs. As Shanto kept him off the attack for most of the morning session on Saturday, Murali Kartik, the former Indian left-arm spinner, said on air that Shakib had informed him about discomfort on his spinning finger and shoulder.”Having seen him and known him for such a long period of time, I did go up to him and ask the reason why he has not bowled enough,” Kartik said. “And the thing which he said to me is something I completely resonate with. He’s had a finger surgery on his bowling finger which is the point of his finger of his left hand. It is swollen, it is rigid, there’s no movement no suppleness to it. So he feels he is not getting any feeling out of it. As a spinner you need the feeling. Also he is having issues with his shoulder so it’s a combination of both and it’s tough to bowl in Test cricket where you need that feel as a spinner.”Related

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Shakib sustained the left index finger injury during Bangladesh’s World Cup match against Sri Lanka last year. He also missed the match against India during the same tournament due to a shoulder injury. The finger injury kept him out of action for a few months, and then Shakib also had an eye problem that prolonged his absence from the Bangladesh team.Tamim Iqbal later said on air that if Bangladesh have knowingly picked Shakib despite the discomfort in his spinning finger, then the visitors are playing with a bowler short.”Murali Kartik said that Shakib is having trouble gripping the ball due this finger injury. If that’s the case, Bangladesh are playing with four frontline bowlers. The team management should inform whether they knew about this injury or not,” Tamim said.BCB’s chief physician Dr Debashish, however, said that they are not aware of any discomfort for Shakib due to the finger or shoulder injury.”Shakib had a fracture in his finger from the World Cup in India,” he said. “Before that, he had an infection from another finger injury a few years ago. Shakib though hasn’t recently complained about a finger or shoulder injury. A broken finger however can cause discomfort.”There’s some concern that Shakib may have overextended himself in recent weeks. He bowled 63.2 overs for Surrey during a county match in Taunton last week. He had left for the UK from Bangladesh’s tour of Pakistan, played the game, and then reached Chennai one day before the first Test.Besides failing to take a wicket in the Test, Shakib got out to an untimely reverse sweep shortly after Litton Das got out in the first innings. Shakib is also trying something new in his batting approach, biting down on a strap around his neck apparently to keep his head from falling over when playing the ball.

Colin Ingram became the first batter this summer to reach 1,000 first-class runs as he plundered his fifth century of the season, and his highest score, to put Glamorgan into a commanding position at the end of the second day against Leicestershire as they led by 180 runs.It was the first time the South African had reached 1,000 first-class runs in a season and after more than six hours of batting he passed his highest score of 190. It had taken him a mere 13 innings to crack the 1,000 runs mark – the quickest by a Glamorgan batter since Majid Khan in 1972.Shortly afterwards, he celebrated reaching his double-hundred with a leap in the air as he took a single off the spin bowling of Louis Kimber in the 118th over. He had received 312 balls and hit 23 fours and one six.He eventually batted through the day to remain 205 not out and ensure the Welsh county picked up three batting points. On one of the nicer days of the summer at Sophia Gardens, he made hay to add to his previous Championship hundreds this year against Middlesex (132 not out), Yorkshire (113), Sussex (170) and Middlesex again (105).Leicestershire seamer Ian Holland was the most successful bowler on both the day and in the innings, as he ended with 4 for 88 from his 25 overs. Rehan Ahmed picked up two wickets.The South African resumed on 63 and helped Kiran Carlson take the overnight score of 114 for 2 up to 201 for 3 in a stand of 174 for the third wicket. Carlson reached his half-century in the sixth over of the morning and then punched England all-rounder Ahmed to the boundary to bring up the 150 partnership in the 47th over.Not to be outdone, Ingram hit Ahmed back over his head for six two balls later. Ingram’s century arrived three overs later (150 balls, 15 fours, 1 six) and it was another Ingram boundary that took Glamorgan past 200 runs a few overs later.Carlson departed in the 55th over thanks to a classy piece of glove work by Peter Handscomb as he stumped him off the bowling of Ahmed. Holland then returned to the attack after lunch to pick up two more wickets as he removed Chris Cooke (47) and Dan Douthwaite (7). His dismissal of Douthwaite at least brought up a second bowling point, but it was a real slog all day on a hybrid pitch that offered little or nothing to the bowlers.Earlier on, Ahmed trapped Billy Root (6) lbw. None of this deterred Ingram, who kept grinding out the runs. His 150 came up in the 82nd over with a tickle to leg and by tea he had steered his side to 318 for 5 at tea.He put on 86 for the fifth wicket with Cooke and then 39 with Timm van der Gugten for the seventh. Van der Gugten became Tom Scriven’s first victim in his 20th over when he was trapped lbw.That made it 370 for 7 and he partnered with Mason Crane to safely steer Glamorgan past the 400 mark in the 114th over of a slow paced innings that saw the home side score 87 in the morning session, 117 in the afternoon and then 113 after tea.

Nat Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten 76 and Lauren Bell’s five-wicket haul ensured England’s 3-0 sweep of the ODI series against New Zealand despite a vastly more spirited performance by the White Ferns.Amelia Kerr led the tourists with her half-century and England’s batting depth was called upon for the first time in the series as Hannah Rowe and Molly Penfold made early inroads in Bristol. The hosts had lost three wickets across the first two matches but today were 33 for 3 inside the powerplay, reduced to eight overs when rain delayed the start by 95 minutes and cut the match to 42 overs per side.Player of the series Maia Bouchier couldn’t push on from her unbeaten century in Worcester on Sunday but Sciver-Brunt, who had facilitated that milestone, produced a typically cool-headed innings to lead England out of danger and ultimately to victory. She and Amy Jones rescued England from 72 for 4 with a fifth-wicket stand worth 90 off 86 balls, Jones posting a run-a-ball fifty as the duo lifted their side 50 runs shy of the 212 target.Tammy Beaumont was put down by wicketkeeper Izzy Gaze off the first ball of the run-chase, a full delivery from Rowe, which swung away and caught the edge of Beaumont’s attempted drive. But then fortune swung New Zealand’s way just four balls later when Beaumont was given out lbw and declined to review with replays showing that the ball would have missed leg stump.When Heather Knight sent a leading edge straight back to the same bowler, England were 29 for 2 and Bouchier fell on the penultimate ball of the powerplay with an aborted pull shot off Penfold that ballooned to the keeper.Her dismissal brought Sophia Dunkley to the crease, back in the starting XI for the first time since a disappointing tour of New Zealand earlier this year as England shook up their team for this dead rubber. It was a nervy start for Dunkley, who faced six balls to get off the mark then overturned an lbw decision off Kerr’s fourth ball of the innings, a wrong’un which brushed her back leg high up as she lunged forward and was ultimately shown to be going over the stumps.Heather Knight lifts the series trophy after England’s 3-0 win over New Zealand•Getty Images

Two balls later, Dunkley managed to steer Kerr for four past short third and, settling into a rhythm, she then punched down the ground for another, more authoritative, boundary off Kerr’s next over when Sciver-Brunt also chimed in through midwicket. But Kerr curtailed Dunkley’s comeback via an inside edge as the batter shaped to cut and was caught behind for 15 off 24 balls.Sciver-Brunt brought up her 21st ODI fifty with a glorious drive down the ground for four off Rowe and Jones raised hers with a chipped single off Kerr towards point. Moments after Jones fell edging Brooke Halliday behind, Sciver-Brunt was dropped on 63 by Georgia Plimmer at cover. By that stage, England needed 49 from 69 balls and Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey eased their way home.Earlier, Bell’s five-wicket haul and Kerr’s fighting half-century gave a more even complexion to the contest than in the first two games, when New Zealand had struggled to string significant partnerships together and batters made starts without converting them to impactful innings.Kerr struck 59 and shared partnerships with Sophie Devine and Halliday worth 68 and 65 runs respectively to push the White Ferns to a good total, by far New Zealand’s best of the tour after they had been bowled out for 156 and 141 previously. But Bell’s 5 for 35 from nine overs kept the target manageable, especially in light of England’s current batting form, or so it seemed before the top-order collapse.In New Zealand’s innings, a sublime throw by Charlie Dean, firing the ball in from backward point, removed Plimmer and, though Kate Cross was expensive early, she made it 46 for 2 when Jones took an excellent catch off Suzie Bates.With Sophie Ecclestone rested for this match, Devine stepped up the rate against the home side’s other two spinners. She struck Sarah Glenn for two fours in three balls, through the covers to bring up the fifty stand with Kerr and to deep midwicket, then crunched Dean through the covers for another boundary in the next over.But Devine’s reaction said it all when Bell returned to the attack and struck with her second ball back, one that angled in from a full length as Devine shaped to cut and chopped onto her stumps, dropping her bat and throwing her head back in exasperation as a promising innings ended on 43.With Maddy Green having fallen to a marginal lbw decision to Cross while the DRS was unavailable, Kerr forged another partnership with Halliday, who made 51 in the series opener and 31 here.But Kerr and Halliday both fell within three balls of one Bell over, Kerr pinned lbw and Halliday caught behind down the leg side as the White Ferns went from 181 for 4 to 182 for 6. Bell and Sciver-Brunt then teamed up twice to remove Gaze and Lauren Down, Sciver-Brunt’s safe hands helping Bell to her maiden international five-for.Encouragingly for England, Sciver-Brunt sent down eight overs and, even though she went wicketless, it was her heaviest workload so far this series, having been restricted to spells of four and five overs in the previous two games as she manages her recovery from a knee problem.

After losing to USA in the Super Over in their opening match of T20 World Cup 2024, Pakistan captain Babar Azam felt that their total of 159 for 7 in the regular time was a defendable one given the conditions and their bowling attack.Sent in after losing the toss, Pakistan lost three early wickets and were 30 for 3 at the end of the powerplay. Babar and Shadab Khan helped them recover with a stand of 72 off 48 for the fourth wicket but USA tied the game and went to win in the Super Over.”Today’s wicket had help for the fast bowlers in the first six overs,” Babar said at the post-match presentation. “But later on, I didn’t feel it was a different wicket. It settled down a bit. Because of the early start – the matches are starting at 10.30am – the fast bowlers will obviously get a little help. There was some juice in the pitch early morning. So they utilised that and executed their plan.”Even in the second innings, I think we also got help, but we were not up to the mark in terms of our bowling areas. We lacked in that in the first ten overs. We came back after that but they had already taken the momentum. But given the bowlers we have, we should have defended that total. On this pitch, I think it was a defendable total for our bowling.Related

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“We are better than that in the bowling. We did not take wickets in the first six overs. In the middle overs, if your spinner is not taking wickets, then the pressure is on you. After ten overs, we did come back but I think the way they finished game in the Super Over, the credit goes to the US team.”For Pakistan, Mohammad Amir conceded 18 in the Super Over. It included three wide deliveries, and seven extras in all as the USA batters, Aaron Jones and Harmeet Singh, kept running for wides too. Pakistan, in response, could manage only 13.”He [Amir] is an experienced bowler,” Babar said. “He knows how to bowl and we were just trying to bowl according to field. But I think the US batsmen were smart. Even when the ball went to the keeper, they were running. So I think that thing was a plus point for them in the Super Over.”Babar Azam never really got going and finished with a 43-ball 44•Associated Press

At the same time, Babar also rued not making use of the platform set by Shadab and him. They had taken Pakistan to 98 for 4 in the 13th over but left-arm spinner Nosthush Kenjige dismissed Shadab and Azam Khan off successive balls to dent them again.”In the first six overs, the ball was holding a bit and seaming around,” Babar said. “So it was important to build a partnership. When Shadab and I had that partnership, we got momentum. I think when we lost the wickets back to back, that was the turning point. The momentum we had was shifted towards the other side.”It was difficult in the beginning, but we covered it up. But as a professional unit, the middle order needs to step up in such situations. This is not an excuse – I don’t think it was that they played well, I think we played badly.”Did Pakistan, the runners-up of the 2022 edition, take first-timers USA lightly?”See, whenever you come to any tournament, you do the best preparation always,” Babar said. “You can say it’s a kind of mindset. When you come up against a team like this, you relax a little. If you don’t execute your plan against any team, then whatever team it is, they will make you pay. So I believe that our execution was not up to the mark. We were doing well in the preparation but in the match, we did not execute our plans as a team.”

Darwin is in the box seat to host its first Test in 22 years with Cricket Australia keen to split next year’s Bangladesh tour between the Territory and North Queensland.Players are understood to have been impressed with international cricket’s return to Darwin this month, as part of the white-ball series against South Africa.More winter internationals are scheduled for next year with Australia set to host a two-Test series against Bangladesh which is part of the World Test Championship (WTC) in the Top End. Mackay, Cairns, Townsville and Darwin all loom as options to host, which would double as the first winter Tests in Australia since 2004.But Darwin is the most likely to secure one of those Tests with Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg keen to spread the series across more than one state.”Ideally [we will],” Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg said. “We want to make sure we continue to play cricket in lots of different locations, so the next generation of kids can see their stars.”I spent some time with the Chief Minister there and they’ve got a strong appetite for more cricket, as have we, to play more cricket there. The conditions up there are amazing when you take out the biggest variable we have in cricket, which is weather, and you have nothing to worry about.”The Bangladesh Tests had originally been scheduled for March 2027 but the 150th anniversary contest between Australia and England at the MCG has meant the series needed to be moved. Afghanistan had been due to tour Australia next July and August for a one-off Test and three T20Is, but CA has suspended bilateral cricket with them.Darwin last hosted Tests against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2003 and 2004 respectively, before largely falling off the cricket calendar for the past two decades.Australia A played out two draws in unofficial Tests against Sri Lanka A in the city in July, before this month’s T20Is against South Africa at TIO Stadium.Mackay looms as the more modern regional venue in Queensland with the Great Barrier Reef Arena upgraded in 2023 and having hosted regular WBBL matches.Players were also buoyed by the wickets in the T20I and ODI against South Africa there this month, which doubled as Australia’s first men’s internationals there.A Test would be the first in Mackay’s history with Cairns having previously hosted two in the early 2000s before last week’s ODIs in the northernmost city. Townsville is the other option after hosting ODIs in 2022, but issues such as lighting have seen it drop behind Cairns and Mackay as an option in recent years.A match at any Queensland venue would also count as the state’s Test for the 2026-27 summer, given the Gabba has missed out on a red-ball match with the touring New Zealand.CA is open to the idea of more winter internationals in the Top End, as a way of extending the season and easing the load on the main part of the summer.”We had such good support [in the white-ball games], we were sold out in almost every stadium we played in,” Greenberg said. “Playing on each of the shoulder parts of the season [works].  Our Australian women’s team will play a Test match in mid-March in Perth this year. International cricket is played 12 months of the year.”