Australia and England set for day-night Test at MCG for 150th Ashes anniversary

The historic 150th anniversary Ashes Test at the MCG in 2027 will be staged as a day-night match.

Long locked in for 11 to 15 March, Cricket Australia confirmed – exactly two years out – Australia’s one-off match against England would be the first men’s pink-ball Test at the venue.

Remarkably, the first Test in 1877 and the Centenary Test in 1977 both resulted in Australia winning by 45 runs.

CA insisted staging the Test as a day-night match would allow bigger crowds to attend, given it will be played in March, outside of the school holiday period.

It will be the latest a men’s Test has been staged in a summer since Australia hosted Pakistan in 1978-79.

CA still holds contractual rights to the MCG until the end of March each summer, though the AFL has recently started playing matches at the ground well before the end of the month.

“The 150th Anniversary Test at the MCG will be one of the great cricket events and playing under lights will be a fantastic way to celebrate both our game’s rich heritage and Test cricket’s modern evolution,” new CA boss Todd Greenberg said.

“It will also help ensure more people are able to attend and watch what will be a fantastic occasion.

“The Centenary Test created many iconic performances, including David Hookes’ five consecutive boundaries off Tony Greig, Rick McCosker batting with a broken jaw and Derek Randall’s defiant century, and I’m sure the 150th Test will create its own lifelong memories.”

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It is scheduled to be the second day-night Test at the MCG following Australia’s women’s crushing victory over England at the venue in February.

Pat Cummins’ team will host England next summer in a five-Test series as they seek to retain the urn they have held since 2017-18.

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