Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has conceded the organisation is “open” to ending one of Australia’s favourite cricket traditions – the New Years Test at the SCG.
But if it does happen, it’s unlikely to be anytime soon.
Cricket Australia bosses are “open” to moving the New Years Test away from Sydney. PA Images via Getty Images
A staple of the Australian summer for the last three decades, one of the main criticisms of the scheduling of the traditional New Years Test in Sydney is the weather. January is statistically the wettest month of the year in Sydney, and about a third of playing days have been rain-affected in its history.
Sydney has also lost more whole days to weather by itself (26) than all the other Australian venues combined (20).
Cricket Australia also holds a desire to have more of the Aussie Test stars available to play in the Big Bash during its peak period – the fortnight over Christmas and New Year.
The body is also in the midst of selling the Melbourne Renegades, with the hope of securing a buyer by the end of this year, to enter the competition next summer.
Speaking to media in Durban ahead of the first Test against South Africa, Greenberg said the Sydney Test would remain in its New Year slot until the current broadcast deal ends in 2032.
But beyond that is up in the air.
“So we’ve said in the way we’ve pitched our documents and the way the process would work is the Sydney Test match is contracted right through until 2032, so it’s contracted both with government, and it’s also contracted in our broadcast negotiations,” he said.
“What happens beyond 2032, I think, is a question that we will have to address.
“We would like to think that we can retain our Test schedule as it is into the future, but we’re also realistic to understand that we need to keep an open mind to that, and is there another way to do it?”
Greenberg said the heavily congested Test schedule would no doubt help Sydney keep its traditional slot.
“It’s not simple, it’s not binary. But I think the Sydney Test match works really well where it is. It’s proven that over time outside of the weather.
Steve Smith walks off the SCG after a century in the 2025/26 Ashes at the SCG in January. Getty Images
“But again, as I’ve said before, the BBL games that are played on the evenings of a Sydney Test match are some of the highest-rated BBL games we have all summer. So you want to be certain that to change something, you get a better outcome than what you get today.”
The 2026/2027 Australian international men’s summer will be more or less compressed into just seven weeks, starting with the three-match ODI series against England on November 13.
The fourth Test against New Zealand is scheduled for January 4-8, before the side jets to India for a five Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The men will, however, return to Australian shores for the one-off 150th Anniversary Test against England at the MCG in March.
