Future Tours Schedule 2023-27

Seems a draft has been leaked, and the new schedule involves substantial gaps in the international calendar for franchise tournaments, including the best part of three months for IPL and most of August for the 16.4 over here. England still playing the largest number of Tests, but the typical seven of recent summers reduces to 5 or 6, assuming no one-offs against minnows.

England scheduled Test series:
2023: Australia (h) x5
2023-24: India (a) x5
2024: WI (h) x3, SL (h) x3
2024-25: Pakistan (a) x3, NZ (a) x3
2025: India (h) x5
2025-26: Australia (a) x5
2026: NZ (h) x3, Pakistan (h) x3
2026-27: SA (a) x3, Bangladesh (a) x2

Also biennial WTC along with the various white-ball tournaments. 2024 WT20 will take place in WI and US during English summer.

Bring it!!!!

Does seem like a moment of bowing to the inevitable in terms of franchise circus cricket squeezing the international calendar. As a Cricinfo article pointed out, were all the major franchise tournaments to have an international-free window it would only really leave September to December (which would pretty much rule out anything in England for a start!)

I suspect bilateral ODI and T20I series will be the main casualty in time (though strangely, the return of triangular SODITs has seemingly been mooted). And the Test schedule seems to be settling down to 5-match series between the big three, and 3 or fewer where anyone else is involved.

Sounds like Sky have asked for Test cricket to be largely removed from August to avoid football clashes as well as to create a 16.4-over window. So the main series is likely to be June/July starting with next year’s Ashes.

I suppose it works best from a light point of view, but will miss the late summer Oval finale that has produced so many memorable finishes to the English season.

Yet I’ve been advised the Ashes series next year will be later, ie August. Perhaps Sky’s destructive impact can be delayed.

Seems quite a clear message that it’s going to be a July finish, though only announced this week. If they go with the 2-break-1-break-2 format I’d guess at start dates of 14th June, 22nd June, 6th July, 19th July and 27th July.

Venues are confirmed as Edgbaston, Lord’s, The Oval, Headingley and Old Trafford (order not yet decided as far as I’m aware).

beamer wrote:Seems quite a clear message that it’s going to be a July finish, though only announced this week. If they go with the 2-break-1-break-2 format I’d guess at start dates of 14th June, 22nd June, 6th July, 19th July and 27th July.

Venues are confirmed as Edgbaston, Lord’s, The Oval, Headingley and Old Trafford (order not yet decided as far as I’m aware).

Swap The Oval with Old Trafford and you would have a traditional schedule.

Basil wrote:

beamer wrote:Seems quite a clear message that it’s going to be a July finish, though only announced this week. If they go with the 2-break-1-break-2 format I’d guess at start dates of 14th June, 22nd June, 6th July, 19th July and 27th July.

Venues are confirmed as Edgbaston, Lord’s, The Oval, Headingley and Old Trafford (order not yet decided as far as I’m aware).

Swap The Oval with Old Trafford and you would have a traditional schedule.

I don’t think that’s a confirmed order, as I said. The Oval might still be the finale but in late July rather than late August/early September.

Ashes fixtures confirmed then… I was spot on with the July dates, if not the first two.

June

16-20 1st Test v Australia, Edgbaston (11:00)

28-2 July 2nd Test v Australia, Lord's (11:00)

July

6-10 3rd Test v Australia, Headingley (11:00)

19-23 4th Test v Australia, Old Trafford (11:00)

27-31 5th Test v Australia, The Oval (11:00)

No good for me. Already arranged leave and travel August - September2023 beginning a year ago, and had hoped there would be a Test I could attend early on in my time away. Watch from home, then. Note that Trent Bridge misses out.

Yeah, Trent Bridge has the women’s Test, and not even an ODI bar Ireland. I think they’ve backed off from the costs of hosting the Ashes in recent times.

Bring.it.on.