The biggest ever summer of cricket will feature the return of full domestic schedules.
The Marsh Sheffield Shield and Marsh One-Day Cup will revert to full 31 and 22-game schedules respectively in 2021-22, while the Women’s National Cricket League will once again comprise a 29-game campaign. In addition, the dates and venues for a number of men’s and women’s tour matches have also been confirmed.
The announcement rounds out an unprecedented Australian summer of cricket, with 29 international fixtures including eight Test matches and 120 matches across both Big Bash Leagues also due to take place.
Download the domestic and tour match schedules here or visit www.cricket.com.au/fixtures
Men’s domestic cricket
The men’s domestic season begins on September 11 with six Marsh One-Day Cup matches in six days, before the opening round of the Marsh Sheffield Shield begins on September 28.
Each state will play five Marsh Sheffield Shield matches before the only Vodafone Test between Australia and Afghanistan at Blundstone Arena begins on November 27. A sixth Shield round will run concurrently with that Test match, before domestic cricket breaks for the KFC Big Bash League. A total of 15 Marsh One-Day Cup matches – five for each state – will also be played before the commencement of KFC BBL|11.
The men’s domestic season resumes on February 6 with the remaining four rounds of Marsh Sheffield Shield completed by March 19, with the five-day Final to commence on March 26. Marsh One-Day Cup home and away matches will be completed in February, with the Final scheduled for February 27.
In all, 13 Marsh One-Day Cup matches will be broadcast on Foxtel including the Final, while the Marsh Sheffield Shield Final will also be shown on Foxtel. Men’s domestic matches will also be streamed on Kayo and cricket.com.au.
Women’s domestic cricket
The 2020-21 Women’s National Cricket League season commences on September 23, with the campaign to be played in four blocks of seven matches.
The September block takes place during the CommBank Series against India, with December and January’s blocks providing an ideal lead in to the CommBank Women’s Ashes against England.
The February WNCL block will round out the home and away season before the Final on March 6. Streaming details for the competition will be released in due course.
Tour matches
A number of tour matches have also been scheduled, highlighted by Australia A taking on English outfits in all three formats.
The men’s Australia A side will face England Lions in a four-day match at Ian Healy Oval, starting December 9 and running concurrently with the First Vodafone Ashes Test. A Cricket Australia XI will also face New Zealand on January 27, prior to the Dettol ODI series.
Australia’s women’s A side will face England in a three match Twenty20 series (January 26, 28, 30) and three-match 50-over series (February 5, 8, 10), running concurrently with the CommBank Ashes series. An Australian XI will take on India prior to their series on September 17.
Further tour matches may be added to the schedule. Details of the annual Prime Minister’s XI and Governor-General’s XI matches will be released in due course.
Addressing the schedule, Peter Roach, Cricket Australia’s Head of Cricket Operations, said:
“We’re delighted to deliver a domestic schedule today which sees a return to full competitions across all formats.
“Maintaining the strength of our domestic competitions is a priority for Australian Cricket. With an enormous summer of red, pink and white ball international cricket ahead of us, this schedule has a strong focus on ensuring our players are adequately prepared for those major series.
“It is also pleasing to deliver a strong tour match schedule to support our touring nations across all formats. We anticipate England may add further intra-squad tour matches to their schedule, including matches against their England Lions or A sides.
“Like all sports, we cannot rule out facing challenges created by the global pandemic at some stage in the season. However, the lessons of the 2020-21 summer have prepared us well to be agile and adapt as required to deliver the best possible season for the players and fans.
“We look forward to the beginning of our and men’s competitions on September 11 and 28 and women’s season on September 23, and thank all our partners including Marsh, Foxtel and Kayo for their ongoing support of domestic cricket.”
MARSH SHEFFIELD SHIELD
Round 1
Sep 28 – Oct 1: Queensland v Tasmania, Riverway Stadium
Sep 28 – Oct 1: South Australia v Western Australia, Karen Rolton Oval
Sep 29 – Oct 2: Victoria v New South Wales, CitiPower Centre
Round 2
Oct 14 – 17: South Australia v New South Wales, Adelaide Oval
Oct 14 – 17: Western Australia v Queensland, WACA Ground
Oct 15 – 18: Victoria v Tasmania, Melbourne Cricket Ground
Round 3
Oct 25 – 28: Queensland v South Australia, Ian Healy Oval
Oct 26 – 29: New South Wales v Victoria, Manuka Oval
Oct 26 – 29: Tasmania v Western Australia, Blundstone Arena
Round 4
Nov 6 – 9: Queensland v Victoria, Gabba
Nov 6 – 9: New South Wales v Western Australia, Bankstown Oval
Nov 7 – 10: Tasmania v South Australia, Blundstone Arena
Round 5
Nov 17 – 20: New South Wales v Tasmania, Sydney Cricket Ground
Nov 17 – 20: South Australia v Queensland, Adelaide Oval
Nov 17 – 20: Victoria v Western Australia, Melbourne Cricket Ground
Round 6
Nov 28 – Dec 1: New South Wales v Queensland, Sydney Cricket Ground
Nov 28 – Dec 1: South Australia v Victoria, Adelaide Oval
Nov 28 – Dec 1: Western Australia v Tasmania, WACA Ground
Round 7
Feb 6 – 9: Victoria v Queensland, Melbourne Cricket Ground
Feb 6 – 9: Western Australia v South Australia, WACA Ground
Feb 7 – 10: Tasmania v New South Wales, Blundstone Arena
Round 8
Feb 16 – 19: Queensland v Western Australia, Gabba
Feb 17 – 20: New South Wales v South Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground
Feb 17 – 20: Tasmania v Victoria, Blundstone Arena
Round 9
Mar 5 – 8: Queensland v New South Wales, Gabba
Mar 5 – 8: South Australia v Tasmania, Adelaide Oval
Mar 5 – 8: Western Australia v Victoria, WACA Ground
Round 10
Mar 16 – 19: Victoria v South Australia, CitiPower Centre
Mar 16 – 19: Tasmania v Queensland, Blundstone Arena
Mar 16 – 19: Western Australia v New South Wales, WACA Ground
Final
March 26 – 30, TBC v TBC, TBC (Foxtel)
MARSH ONE-DAY CUP
Sep 11: Victoria v South Australia, CitiPower Centre (Foxtel)
Sep 12: Western Australia v New South Wales, WACA Ground (Foxtel)
Sep 13: South Australia v Tasmania, CitiPower Centre (Foxtel)
Sep 14: New South Wales v Queensland, WACA Ground (Foxtel)
Sep 15: Victoria v Tasmania, CitiPower Centre (Foxtel)
Sep 16: Western Australia v Queensland, WACA Ground (Foxtel)
Oct 3: Queensland v Tasmania, Riverway Stadium
Oct 3: South Australia v Western Australia, Karen Rolton Oval
Oct 4: Victoria v New South Wales, CitiPower Centre (Foxtel)
Oct 6: Victoria v Western Australia, CitiPower Centre (Foxtel)
Oct 6: South Australia v Tasmania, Karen Rolton Oval
Oct 7: New South Wales v Queensland, Drummoyne Oval
Oct 30: Queensland v South Australia, Ian Healy Oval
Oct 31: New South Wales v Victoria, Manuka Oval
Oct 31: Tasmania v Western Australia, Blundstone Arena
Feb 11: Victoria v Queensland, Melbourne Cricket Ground (Foxtel)
Feb 11: Western Australia v South Australia, WACA Ground
Feb 12: Tasmania v New South Wales, Blundstone Arena (Foxtel, D/N)
Feb 21: Queensland v Western Australia, Gabba (Foxtel, D/N)
Feb 22: New South Wales v South Australia, North Sydney Oval (Foxtel, D/N)
Feb 22: Tasmania v Victoria, Blundstone Arena
Final
Feb 27: TBC v TBC, TBC (Foxtel)
WOMEN’S NATIONAL CRICKET LEAGUE
Sep 23: South Australia v Western Australia, Karen Rolton Oval
Sep 25: Australian Capital Territory v Western Australia, Gladys Elphick Park
Sep 27: South Australia v Australian Capital Territory, Gladys Elphick Park
Oct 1: New South Wales v Tasmania, Hurstville Oval
Oct 1: Queensland v Victoria, Alan Pettigrew Oval
Oct 3: New South Wales v Tasmania, Hurstville Oval
Oct 3: Queensland v Victoria, Alan Pettigrew Oval
Dec 16: Tasmania v South Australia, Blundstone Arena
Dec 16: Victoria v Australian Capital Territory, CitiPower Centre
Dec 17: Western Australia v Queensland, WACA Ground
Dec 19: Tasmania v Australian Capital Territory, Blundstone Arena
Dec 19: Victoria v South Australia, CitiPower Centre
Dec 19: New South Wales v Queensland, WACA Ground
Dec 21: Western Australia v New South Wales, WACA Ground
Jan 7: Victoria v New South Wales, CitiPower Centre
Jan 7: Tasmania v Queensland, Blundstone Arena
Jan 7: Australian Capital Territory v South Australia, Manuka Oval
Jan 9: Victoria v New South Wales, CitiPower Centre
Jan 9: Tasmania v Queensland, Blundstone Arena
Jan 9: South Australia v Western Australia, Manuka Oval
Jan 11: Australian Capital Territory v Western Australia, Manuka Oval
Feb 14: Western Australia v Tasmania, WACA Ground
Feb 15: Queensland v Australian Capital Territory, Ian Healy Oval
Feb 15: New South Wales v South Australia, North Sydney Oval (D/N)
Feb 16: Tasmania v Victoria, Lilac Hill
Feb 18: Western Australia v Victoria, Lilac Hill
Feb 18: Australian Capital Territory v New South Wales, EPC Solar Park
Feb 18: South Australia v Queensland, Karen Rolton Oval
Final
Mar 6: TBC v TBC, TBC
TOUR MATCHES
Men’s
Dec 9-12: Australia A v England Lions, Ian Healy Oval
Jan 27: Cricket Australia XI v New Zealand, WACA Ground (50-over, D/N)
Women’s
Sep 17: Australian XI v India, TBC (50-over)
Jan 26: Australia A v England A, EPC Solar Park (T20)
Jan 28: Australia A v England A, EPC Solar Park (T20)
Jan 30: Australia A v England A, EPC Solar Park (T20)
Feb 5: Australia A v England A, Drummoyne Oval (50-over, D/N)
Feb 8: Australia A v England A, Karen Rolton Oval (50-over)
Feb 10: Australia A v England A, Karen Rolton Oval (50-over)
*Matches and travel remain subject to any relevant government restrictions or requirements. Cricket Australia reserves the right to adjust the 2021-22 Marsh Sheffield Shield, Marsh One-Day Cup, Women’s National Cricket League and tour match schedules.
