Australia ‘A’ will play three one-dayers and two First-Class matches in the Northern Territory in July.

First-Class cricket will end a 19-year absence to make its return to the Top End next month with Australia A confirmed to play a series of matches against Sri Lanka A.

It will be the first time that a senior Australia squad has played First-Class cricket in the Northern Territory since 2006, when an Australia A side captained by Brad Haddin and featuring senior stars Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson played against a Pakistan side captained by Misbah-ul-Haq.

The Australia A squad – which is yet to be named – will play three one-day games against the Sri Lankans, before donning whites to play two four-day First-Class matches. All five matches will be streamed live on cricket.com.au and Kayo Sports.

The first of those four-day games will be played on a drop-in pitch at the Marrara Stadium, the city’s largest venue that can hold about 12,000 spectators.

That venue will also host the opening games of the 2025-26 international season when Australia’s Men take on South Africa with two T20 internationals at Darwin’s Marrara Stadium on August 10 and 12.

Mid-year cricket is on the rise in Darwin, with the city also hoping to play host to Bangladesh with a two-Test series expected to be played in Australia in mid-2026.

Cricket Australia’s Head of Cricket Operations and Scheduling, Peter Roach, welcomed the opportunity to play Australia A matches at home in the colder months.

“It’s fantastic to confirm a multi-format series which gives the next crop of emerging cricketers’ excellent development opportunities throughout the Australian winter,” Roach said in a statement.

The schedule
First one-day match: July 4, Marrara Cricket Ground (D/N), Second one-day match: July 6, Marrara Cricket Ground, Third one-day match: July 9, Marrara Cricket Ground, First First-Class match: July 13-16, Marrara Stadium, Second First-Class match: July 20-23, Marrara Cricket Ground.