A year after opening to much fanfare, Cricket NSW’s home, Cricket Central, was today confirmed to host ten matches across the upcoming summer with two Marsh Sheffield Shield battles, one Marsh One-Day Cup clash, six Women’s National Cricket League fixtures and an international tour match all scheduled for the ICC-compliant oval.
NSW's Central focus as Domestic fixture released
The news follows yesterday’s announcement that Sydney Thunder will play four Weber WBBL matches at Cricket Central this season. The NSW Women’s Team, the Breakers will get the action going with matches against Queensland on September 22 and 24, before returning for fixtures against defending WNCL title-holders Tasmania (January 5 and 7) and last year’s runners-up South Australia (February 15 and 17). The Breakers will also play the West Indies in a T20 tour match at Cricket Central on September 28, while a Governor General’s Xl will take on South Africa in a T20 tour match at North Sydney Oval on January 24. The NSW Men’s Team, the Blues, host Queensland (October 4-7) and South Australia (March 1-4) at Cricket Central alongside three fixtures at their traditional home of the SCG, where they will play Western Australia (November 6-9), Tasmania (November 28-December 1) and Victoria (February 16-19). In Marsh One-Day Cup action, the Blues will play two home matches at North Sydney Oval (Queensland, October 9 and Victoria, February 14), along with the November 4 match against Western Australia at Cricket Central. Cricket NSW Chief of Cricket Performance, Greg Mail, said the fixture across the three domestic tournaments – Sheffield Shield, One-Day Cup and WNCL – would complement the recently announced international, KFC BBL and WBBL schedules. “Looking through the list of fixtures across the various competitions and tournaments shows just how much elite cricket content NSW will host this summer,” Mail said. “We feel we have the right mix of venues, with Cricket Central now a new feature on the calendar and a true home for our players and fans alike. “We really want our players to feel like they have a home ground that they can call their own, learn the conditions and turn it into a fortress that other teams find it hard to win at. They train at Cricket Central every day and the facilities are world class, with everything required for match preparation and recovery.” “We will still play three Sheffield Shield matches at the SCG and a couple of 50-over matches at North Sydney Oval too, which is a great balance.” For the full domestic fixture, click here.