Melbourne, May 28: While cricket fans, experts and players are totally focused about the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup, after completion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, there is litter room for red ball cricket.
The reason to is simple. The ICC ODI World Cups and Twenty20 World Cups often provide lot of thrills, excitements, drama, intensity and emotions.
On the contrary, the red ball cricket or the multi-day format played with the red ball, may be the ultimate test for a cricketer. But fans often find white ball games more thrilling and the Test cricket (played with the red ball) bit slow and time consuming.
However, the best players, committed fans and seasoned experts often believe Test cricket, Four-Day cricket, played with the red ball is the best form of the game.
While the focus is on white-ball ICC T20 World Cup 2024, in the meanwhile, Cricket Australia on Tuesday announced the match days and venues of India A touring Australia this summer.
Two four-day matches between Australia A and India A and a three-day internal match comprising players from the Indian Test squad and India A will precede the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series as the top-ranked Test nations prepare for their hugely anticipated showdown.
The lead-up games mean Australia will host the biggest Indian summer ever with the hugely supported Indian men’s and women’s teams playing in Australia over 69 days from first ball to last and in eight different venues Australia-wide.
The Australia A v India A matches will be played at Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay (Oct 31-Nov 3) and the MCG (Nov 7-10) respectively, with the Indian internal match to take place at the WACA Ground (Nov 15-17) with players pushing their case for selection ahead of the West Test.
The Australian women’s team will take on India in three ODI’s in December as the rivalry between the world champion Australians and the rapidly improving India intensifies.
Peter Roach, CA Head of Cricket Operations and Scheduling said: “The 2024-25 summer is highlighted by the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, the first five-Test series between the two giants in more than 30 years. To have that running simultaneously with the women’s ODIs and preceded by two significant Australia A v India A matches will be terrific for our fans.
“Hosting those A matches at the upgraded Great Barrier Reef Arena and the MCG give these A matches significant status and will provide great opportunities to players from both sides to put up their hand for selection.”
India Tours of Australia 2024 schedule:
Men’s Australia A v India A Series
October 31- November 3, 2024: Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay
November 7-November 10, 2024: MCG, Melbourne
India Men’s Internal Game
November 15-November 17: WACA Ground, Perth
Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series
November 22-26, 2024: Perth Stadium, Perth
December 6-10, 2024: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (D/N)
December 14-18, 2024: The Gabba, Brisbane
December 26-30, 2024: MCG, Melbourne
January 3-7, 2025: SCG, Sydney
CommBank Women's ODI Series - Australia v India
December 5, 2024: Allan Border Field, Brisbane (D/N)
December 8, 2024: Allan Border Field, Brisbane (D)
December 11, 2024: WACA Ground, Perth (D/N).
Interestingly, many Test playing nations including the big three of India, Australia and England, have been advocating for all the three formats of the game. But T20 cricket continues to gain more and more popularity worldwide. (With IANS support)