Cliff Notes – Darwin’s international return confirmed; India white-ball tour locked in
- Darwin will host its first international cricket matches in 17 years, featuring two men’s T20Is between Australia and South Africa in August 2025.
- India is set to tour Australia for eight white-ball matches in October 2025, including three ODIs and five T20Is, ahead of the men’s Ashes series starting in November.
Darwin’s international return confirmed; India white-ball tour locked in
Darwin’s return as an international venue for the first time in 17 years has been confirmed with the hosting of two men’s T20Is between Australia and South Africa in August while India will tour for eight white-ball matches in 21 days ahead of the men’s Ashes which begins in late November.
Cricket Australia confirmed their home international schedule on Sunday which will see the men’s team in action from mid-August, a couple of weeks after completing a tour of West Indies, with three T20Is and three ODIs against South Africa stage in northern Australia across Darwin, Cairns and Mackay, the latter hosting Australia’s men for the first time.
Darwin last staged international cricket in 2008 when Australia played Bangladesh. Its return means the men’s team will play in all state and territories during the 2025-26 season.
Northern Australia is also due to host a two-Test series against Bangladesh later in 2026 – which has been moved from March 2027 due to the 150th anniversary Test at the MCG – with Darwin in contention for one of those games alongside Cairns, Mackay and potentially Townsville.
India, who were beaten 3-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy this season, will tour from mid-October for three ODIs and five T20Is before the Ashes, the fixtures for which had already been confirmed, starts on November 21 in Perth.
The India series will also begin in Perth with the first ODI on October 19. Starting in the west is the preferred option to avoid a short turnaround into Perth matches with lengthy flights. One of the five T20Is will be staged on the Gold Coast in Queensland.
There is also a larger gap between the India white-ball games and the start of the Ashes compared to they very short turnaround between the Pakistan and India series this season which gives a better chance of a full-strength home side being selected.
Prior to India’s arrival
Prior to India’s arrival, Australia will make a brief trip across the Tasman in early October for a three-match T20I series against New Zealand with those dates still to be confirmed.
Following the Ashes, which concludes in early January, there will again be a window for multiformat players to appear in the BBL, dates for which will announced later in the year but it will fill largely the same window as the 2024-25 season.
It is hoped that availability may extend to the finals before the T20I squad begins preparations for the T20 World Cup which will be staged in India and Sri Lanka from mid-February, although that will depend how much of a lead-in the Australia hierarchy decide on with an away series against Pakistan set to provide build-up. This summer, a number of internationals missed the BBL finals due to a training camp in Dubai ahead of the Sri Lanka Tests series.
Australia A are also set for an extensive schedule, which will be confirmed at a later date, which is expected to feature a home series in the middle of the year. They are also due to tour India, with those dates to be announced by BCCI, as part of a new reciprocal arrangement for A tours across the men’s and women’s game.
There are also expected to be Australia A fixtures against England Lions who will tour concurrently with the start of the Ashes series.
Australia Men 2025-26 home schedule
vs South Africa
August 10: 1st T20I, Darwin (N)
August 12: 2nd T20I, Darwin (N)
August 16: 3rd T20I, Cairns (N)
August 19: 1st ODI, Cairns (D/N)
August 22: 2nd ODI, Mackay (D/N)
August 24: 3rd ODI, Mackay (D/N)
vs India
October 19: 1st ODI, Perth Stadium (D/N)
October 23: 2nd ODI, Adelaide (D/N)
October 25: 3rd ODI, SCG (D/N)
October 29: 1st T20I, Canberra (N)
October 31: 2nd T20I, MCG (N)
November 2: 3rd T20I, Hobart (N)
November 6: 4th T20I, Gold Coast (N)
November 8: 5th T20I, Gabba (N)
Men’s Ashes (previously announced)
November 21-25: 1st Test, Perth Stadium
December 4-8: 2nd Test, Gabba (D/N)
December 17-21: 3rd Test, Adelaide
December 26-30: 4th Test, MCG
January 4-8, 5th Test, SCG