Historic Australia vs England Test to Celebrate 150 Years of Test Cricket Scheduled for March 2027

A one-off Test match between Australia and England to celebrate 150 years of Test cricket will be played from March 11 to 15, 2027, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The fixture, announced earlier this August by Cricket Australia (CA), will replicate the iconic Centenary Test of 1977, a match Australia won by 45 runs. Interestingly, this was the same margin by which Australia defeated England in the very first Test match in 1877.

The MCG, which hosted the landmark Tests in both 1877 and 1977, will once again be the venue for this historic event in 2027, making it a significant occasion for the sport.

However, the timing of the 2027 Test clash with the Indian Premier League (IPL) season presents a scheduling challenge. The IPL is set to begin on March 14, 2027, just days after the start of the one-off Test, with its window running through to May 30, 2027. In an email sent to IPL franchises on Thursday, the league confirmed that Australian and English players would be available to join their IPL teams after the Test match, ensuring minimal disruption to the start of the tournament.

The clash with the IPL's early season was flagged as part of the planning for the next three seasons of the tournament (2025-27). The IPL email also detailed the availability of overseas players during these years, factoring in major international cricket events like the one-off Test.

Before the historic 2027 Test, Australia and England will face off in the 2025-2026 Ashes series, beginning on November 21, 2025, in Perth, with the final Test scheduled for January 4, 2026, in Sydney. Following this, England will host the 2027 Ashes series.

As cricket fans eagerly await the centenary celebrations in 2027, the timing of this historic Test and the IPL season promises to be a focal point of the cricketing calendar in the years to come.