Cricket Australia (CA) is expecting record attendances at the cricket this summer to a new-look season of 33 scheduled international playing days announced today.
The program includes five Commonwealth Bank Ashes Tests, which will again attract big numbers of UK visitors down under and is expected to boost Australia’s tourism economy by more than $300 million based on previous Ashes’ experience.
A tighter Carlton Mid One-day international Series of five games against England is part of summer’s new look. While the ODI program is tighter, CA is confident the overall summer will see yet another year of record cricket attendances.
CA also announced dates and venues for this summer’s KFC T20 INTLs.
Tickets for the 2013-14 international matches will go on sale on Monday 1 July and, based on historic experience, are expected to sell fast.
As in previous years, loyal fans will get the first chance to buy tickets to what is expected to be a high-demand series.
Australian Cricket Family (ACF) gold members – fans with an existing record of buying cricket tickets – will get a one-day priority period to purchase their summer tickets first. Australian-based fans can still join the ACF for free in order to be eligible for the priority buying period from Tuesday 2 July to Friday 5 July. General public sales open on Wednesday 17 July.
CA Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said the new-look summer schedule, which includes the five head-to-head Carlton Mid ODI matches against sole-touring team England, will provide the most compelling content and reflected the importance of a Commonwealth Bank Ashes Test series. He said the number of annual ODIs will vary from summer to summer according to the future tours program needs.
“We are pleased to confirm the full 2013-14 international schedule, which includes 33 days of international cricket and five tour matches. Dates and venues for the five-match Carlton Mid ODI Series and the three KFC T20 Internationals have now been added to the previously-confirmed five-match Commonwealth Bank Ashes Test Series fixture.
“This full fixture confirmation allows our fans to plan their trips around Australia now to ensure they are part of an historic summer of cricket.
“We encourage our Australian-based fans to join the Australian Cricket Family for free to ensure they get priority access to tickets when they are released mid-year. We’ve got no doubt there will also be a lot of fans from the UK and abroad who will make the trek Down Under to follow all the summer’s action,” he said.
Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide will all host Carlton Mid One-day Internationals with the first of these matches kicking off in Melbourne on Sunday 12 January. Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney will host the KFC T20 INTL matches the first of which will be played in Hobart on Wednesday 29 January.
Australian Cricket Family
Australians wanting the best chance to secure tickets to the Commonwealth Bank Ashes 2013-14 are advised to join the Australian Cricket Family (ACF). Membership is free and provides priority access to discounted tickets (compared to pre-purchase and at-the-gate ticket prices). Members of the ACF who live overseas do not receive priority access to tickets. Fans have until 5pm on Tuesday 25 June, 2013 to register for the ACF and qualify for access to the priority ticketing period and other membership benefits. More information at www.cricket.com.au/acf.
On-sale ticket dates for 2013-14 international season
| Monday 1 July, 2013 | ACF Gold Priority Period | Commences at 9am (local time) in all states except WA, where WACA tickets will go on sale at 12pm WST. Period closes at 5pm local time, except in WA, where it will close at 8pm WST. |
| Tuesday 2 July – Friday 5 July, 2013 | ACF Priority Period | Commences at 9am (local time) in all states except VIC, where MCG tickets will go on sale at 12pm EST. Period closes at 5pm local time on Friday 5 July. |
| Wednesday 17 July | General Public on sale | Commences at 9am (local time) in all states except VIC, where MCG tickets will go on sale at 12pm EST. |
Australians and overseas travellers (excluding UK) wanting to travel to Ashes Test matches should buy their ticket and accommodation packages from the Cricket Australia Travel Office, which are now on sale. More information at www.cricket.com.au/travel.
UK residents should contact official licensed travel operators in the UK. A full list of these operators is available at www.cricket.com.au/travel . Official licensed travel operators will display a Cricket Australia Travel Office logo on all advertising materials. Patrons should avoid buying tickets or packages from unlicensed agents as any such agent selling tickets to the Ashes 2013-14 without authorisation will have their tickets cancelled and holders of such tickets will be denied access to match venues.
Commonwealth Bank Ashes Series 2013-14
| Thursday 21 – 25 November 2013 | Australia v England | Gabba, Brisbane |
| Thursday 5 – 9 December 2013 | Australia v England | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide |
| Friday 13 – 17 December 2013 | Australia v England | WACA Ground, Perth |
| Thursday 26 – 30 December 2013 | Australia v England | MCG, Melbourne |
| Friday 3 – 7 January 2014 | Australia v England | SCG, Sydney |
Carlton Mid ODI Series 2013-14
| Sunday 12 January 2014 | Australia v England | MCG, Melbourne |
| Friday 17 January 2014 | Australia v England | Gabba, Brisbane |
| Sunday 19 January 2014 | Australia v England | SCG, Sydney |
| Friday 24 January 2014 | Australia v England | WACA Ground, Perth |
| Sunday 26 January 2014 | Australia v England | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide |
KFC T20 International Series 2013-14
| Wednesday 29 January 2014 | Australia v England | Blundstone Arena, Hobart |
| Friday 31 January 2014 | Australia v England | MCG, Melbourne |
| Sunday 2 February 2014 | Australia v England | Stadium Australia, Sydney |
Tour matches
| 31 October – 2 November 2013 | WA XI v England | WACA Ground, Perth |
| 6 – 9 November 2013 | Australia A v England | Blundstone Arena, Hobart |
| 13 – 16 November 2013 | NSW XI v England | SCG, Sydney |
| 29 – 30 November 2013 | Chairman’s XI v England | Traeger Park, Alice Springs |
| 14 January 2014 (50 overs) | PM’s XI v England | Manuka Oval, Canberra |
This schedule is current as at 16 May, 2013. Cricket Australia reserves the right in its absolute discretion to change or amend the program at any time, without notice.