Cricket Australia Open to Moving SCG New Year Test After 2032, Nine Reports

What happens beyond 2032, I think, is a question that we will have to address, Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said in comments reported by Nine regarding the future of the Sydney Cricket Ground New Year Test.

Cricket Australia bosses are open to moving the traditional New Year Test away from Sydney once the current broadcast agreement expires in 2032, Nine reported. The fixture has remained a fixture of the Australian summer for the last three decades, but scheduling decisions face competing pressures from broadcast demands, weather disruptions, and the peak period of the Big Bash League.

Weather Disruptions and Broadcast Pressures at the Sydney Cricket Ground

January stands as the wettest month of the year in Sydney statistically, impacting roughly a third of playing days throughout the history of the fixture, Nine reported. Sydney has lost more whole days to weather on its own, totaling 26, than all other Australian venues combined at 20.

Cricket Australia also maintains a desire to secure the availability of national Test stars for the Big Bash League during its peak fortnight over Christmas and New Year. At the same time, the organisation is selling the Melbourne Renegades with the hope of finalising a buyer by the end of the year so the team can enter the competition next summer.

Broadcasting Contracts and Scheduling Realities Through 2032

Speaking to media in Durban ahead of the first Test against South Africa, Greenberg confirmed that the Sydney Test will occupy its traditional New Year slot until the current broadcast deal runs out in 2032, according to Nine. He noted that the fixture is contracted with both the government and broadcast partners through that date.

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.

Todd Greenberg

Greenberg added that the heavily congested international schedule helps keep Sydney in its traditional slot, noting that evening Big Bash League games played on the same nights as the Sydney Test rank among the highest-rated matches of the summer.

Men's International Summer Schedule Spans 2026 to 2027

Following the New Zealand fixture, the squad travels to India for a five-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The men’s team will return to Australia in March for a one-off 150th Anniversary Test against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.