The WACA Ground will be hosting a women's Test match for the first time in 15 years.
Cricket Australia (CA) on Thursday (May 20) announced that the WACA Ground in Perth will host the one-off day-night Test match between Australia Women and India Women from September 30 to October 3.
Australian women’s cricket team is all set to play three ODIs against India on September 19, 22, and 24 at North Sydney Oval and at Junction Oval in Melbourne respectively followed by a one-off Test at the WACA Ground from Sep 30 to October 3 and three T20Is on October 7, 9 and 11 at North Sydney Oval.
The WACA Ground will be hosting a women's Test match for the first time in 15 years, while it will be the first Test match at the venue since the 2017-18 men's Ashes. The famous Perth stadium is all set to host its first day-night Test game later this year when Australia and India meet. They last played a Test match in 2006.
The historic Test match will be India Women’s first-ever women's day-night Test. The two teams have met just nine times in women's Tests, with eight of those played between 1977 and 1991 and Australia claimed victories in four of those encounters and the remaining five ended in draws.
The multi-format series between Australia and India will end before the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) 2021 followed by Women’s Ashes against England later this year.
Nick Hockley, CA’s Interim CEO, said: “We are thrilled to welcome the tours of Australia's greatest rivals, India and England, for separate multi-format tours this summer. The Australian women's team has gone from strength to strength since their record-breaking T20 World Cup win at the MCG, including extending their record unbeaten ODI streak to 24 matches, and these series will provide yet another great challenge for Meg Lanning's squad.”
He continued, “There is no doubt that T20 cricket has been, and will continue to be, a key driver of growth for women's cricket globally. That said, it is a testament to how far the game has come that we are in a position to host two women's Test matches against the might of India and England, which we know will prove popular with cricket-lovers right around the world.”
Hockley concluded, “The men's Test series against India last season was an extremely competitive series that came down to the wire and we have no doubt that this women's multi-format series will be just as hard-fought. We look forward to welcoming members of the India women's team to Australia after what has been an incredibly challenging time and thank the BCCI for supporting this ground-breaking tour.”
(With ANI Inputs)