Cricket Australia has been forced to make seismic changes to its women’s international calendar following the ICC’s decision to shift February 2027 as the date for their inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy. The change has also scrapped an impending T20I series against Bangladesh and seen Australia owe new fixtures at home against New Zealand.
It was originally scheduled that Bangladesh tour Australia for a six-match white-ball series consisting of three One-Day Internationals, and three T20 Internationals in October. The T20I leg has been taken out of the tour programme to make way for this revised international calendar – but will still include the ODI leg.
The moves in the schedule follow an ICC decision to reschedule the Women’s Champions Trophy from its previously scheduled June-July window in Sri Lanka to February 2027. And with a busy women’s cricket calendar ahead, particularly the number of major tournaments and domestic leagues already planned, Cricket Australia had no choice but to reshape its 2026-27 plans.
As a result of the new agreement, New Zealand will play a three-match T20I series against Australia in October – travelling to their arch-rivals. These encounters will be held in Sydney across October 18, 20 and 22, dates which were originally set aside for T20Is against Bangladesh.
The White Ferns will head back to Australia for a three-match ODI series in March following the Champions Trophy. The opening match will take place in Canberra on March 6, with the other two fixtures scheduled for Melbourne on March 8 and March 10.
One of the marquee fixtures in the rescheduled schedule will be 8 March ODI at Junction Oval, which will be the first ever day-night international match held at this venue. It has also been scheduled to coincide with International Women’s Day and a public holiday in Melbourne, adding significance to the day for women’s cricket.
The ODI series will precede the 150th Anniversary Test between Australia and England, which is set to start on March 11 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
After the process, Cricket Australia thanked Bangladesh and New Zealand for their flexibility, especially New Zealand who will do two trips to Australia. The new calendar is designed to optimise international windows while allowing players enough preparation time leading up to significant events.
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