Darwin to host men's 'A' series against Sri Lanka

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.

Home Tests against Bangladesh had initially been scheduled for March 2027 on the ICC's Future Tours Programme but with an expansion of the 2026-27 summer to feature four Tests against New Zealand and the 150th Anniversary Test against England in March 2027, Bangladesh are now expected to visit Australia in about 15 months' time.

The 'A' series will take on extra significance this year with an Ashes series to be played this summer. While the Darwin matches will coincide with Australia's second and third Tests against the West Indies in Grenada and Jamaica, an Ashes summer brings heightened selection speculation.

With selectors still mulling their options for the squad, Darwin product Jake Weatherald has put his hand up, saying it would be an "amazing " opportunity to play for Australia A in his home city.

"I've been in conversations with Bails (selection chief George Bailey) but nothing confirmed," Weatherald told reporters this week when announcing a two-year Big Bash deal with the Hobart Hurricanes.

"Just conversations around the season I had and the way I played. They are playing the Australia A games up in Darwin, which is a pretty cool thing, it's great to be bringing cricket back to the Territory.

"We've been starved of a lot of cricket up here, but the facilities are amazing. I'd love to see more Australian games played up here. So if I do get the opportunity to play the Australia A stuff, that'd be amazing for me, especially playing in my hometown.

"It's a cool place to play cricket during the winter when there's not many opportunities to do that (in Australia)."

CA'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.

"Darwin's dry season weather between May and September offers both the Northern Territory and Australian Cricket an incredible winter opportunity which allows cricket to be played in Australia all year round.

"Hosting these matches, and especially a match at Marrara Stadium, gives significant status to the series ahead of the 2025-26 international season."

In a further boost for cricket in the region, Australia's top female cricketers will assemble in the city next week for a training camp in the next step of their preparations for this year's ODI World Cup to be played in India in September and October.

The women's team will hold a public event at Marrara Cricket Ground next Monday to meet-and-greet locals with a cricket clinic, as well as undertake a multi-day cultural tour of important local Indigenous sites.

Australia A v Sri Lanka A Top End Series

First one-day match: July 4, Marrara Cricket Ground, 2:30pm AEST (D/N)

 

Second one-day match: July 6, Marrara Cricket Ground, 10:30am AEST

 

Third one-day match: July 9, Marrara Cricket Ground, 10:30am AEST

 

First first-class match: July 13-16, Marrara Stadium, 10:30am AEST

 

Second-class match: July 20-23, Marrara Cricket Ground, 10:30am AEST