The dates for the Australia vs England Test to mark 150 years of Test cricket in 2027 have been revealed. The two teams will be locking horns against each other in a one-off Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the format.
As reported in ESPNCricinfo, the 150th anniversary Test between the two sides will be played from March 11 to March 15, 2027. The dates were written in an email sent by the IPL to the franchises to inform them about the windows of the next three seasons.
This will replicate the 100th anniversary Test in 1977 at the MCG. The Aussies had won that game by a margin of 45 runs against the Three Lions. The two teams had played the first Test way back in 1877, which was also won by Australia by the same margin of 45 runs.
As reported in ESPNCricinfo, the IPL has sent an email to the franchises to inform them about the windows for the next three seasons of the tournament. As per the report, the 2025 season will begin on March 14 and the final will take place on May 25. IPL 2026 will be played between March 15 and May 31, while the next season will be held between March 14 and May 30. The report added that the IPL mentioned these dates as windows but these are likely to be the final ones.
Players from most full member nations have been allowed to compete in the Indian cash-rich league during this period, barring Pakistan, whose players have not featured in the tournament since 2008.
Cricket Australia has made all of its players available for 2025, however, they will feature in an ODI series against Pakistan in early 2026 and players will come after the completion of that series. In 2027, the players featuring in the 150th anniversary test will travel after the completion of the one-off match.
England have sent a list of 18 centrally contracted players who will be available to play in the next three season. The list includes Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Olly Stone and Reece Topley. Notably, Ben Stokes is missing from the list. The non-centrally contracted players will be fully available for this period.
Players from South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe will be fully available too.
