Australia readies for an endless summer

Australia's 366-run win in the Canberra Test marked the final ball of men's international cricket on Australian soil this summer.

But don't shed a tear, for summer is far from over and 2019 brings what could well be Australian cricket's most hectic winter ever.

The domestic summer rolls on with this weekend's final of the WNCL 50-over competition, the KFC BBL finals series and imminent return of the final rounds of the JLT Sheffield Shield.

And Australia's all-conquering women's national team are back in action later this month with a three-game series against the White Ferns which will be their first engagement since their latest T20 World Cup win.

Such is the hectic schedule for Australian cricket in 2019, while the Southern Stars are meeting the Kiwis in Adelaide, the men's team will be beginning their long international sojourn with a T20 match with India in the eastern city of Visakhapatnam.

Looming ever closer on the horizon are some key milestones: the expiration of the suspensions on Steve Smith and David Warner is fast approaching, before the men's 50-over World Cup and then the pièce de résistance, the Ashes series for both genders play out in the UK.

Warner and Smith could be back in Australia colours with haste, with their March 29 return to eligibility for national selection expected to coincide with a yet-to-be-confirmed five ODI series with Pakistan in the UAE.

The World Cup begins for Australia against Afghanistan in Bristol on June 1, while the most comprehensive Australia A tour for some time will run in conjunction with a series of 50-over contests against UK county opposition.

July sees the start of the Women's Ashes multi-format series that will complete Australian cricket's mass invasion of players to the UK.

The Women's Ashes will wrap up with the third and final T20 on July 30, just two days before the men's Test series begins at Edgbaston.

But just before that, the Australia A series will culminate in a showdown four-day first-class match against Australia at Hampshire's Rose Bowl stadium that will be the final selection battle ground for men's Ashes Test hopefuls.

The players that make the cut will lead Australia's bid to win their first away Ashes series since Steve Waugh's side in 2001.

For television viewers, the Nine Network will see cricket return to its screens as the free-to-air broadcaster for Australia's World Cup matches – as well as the finals – plus the Men's Ashes Tests.

This is a hangover from a pre-existing deal Nine signed with the ICC (rights holder for the World Cup) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (which is rights holders for the Ashes tour).

The World Cup will also be broadcast on Fox Sports and its streaming service Kayo, with every game from the tournament covered.

Broadcast details for the Women's Ashes are yet to be confirmed.

The fifth Men's Ashes Test is scheduled to run until September 16, but before that match even starts, the Australian women's team could be in action in the Caribbean with a tour that is slated to be held from late August according to the most recent Future Tours Programme from the ICC.

The Southern Stars are also expected to host Sri Lanka for internationals at home – set to take place in September – while the fifth season of the Rebel WBBL will run as a standalone competition starting in October to kick-start the new summer of Australian cricket.

Below is a full calendar, in chronological order, of every confirmed Australian men's and women's international and 'A' series match.

Mark your calendars, we'll get through it together.

Key dates for Australian cricket
Start times listed where known and are in Australian Eastern

Feb 22 Australia Women 1st ODI v NZ, WACA 1.20pm

Feb 24 Australia Women 2nd ODI v NZ, Karen Rolton Oval 11.50am

1st T20 v India, Visakhapatnam 12.30am (Feb 25) 

Feb 27 2nd T20 v India, Bengaluru 12.30am (Feb 28)

Mar 02 1st ODI v India, Hyderabad 7pm

Mar 03 Australia Women 3rd ODI v NZ, Junction Oval 11.50am

Mar 05 2nd ODI v India, Nagpur 7pm

Mar 08 3rd ODI v India, Ranchi 7pm

Mar 10 4th ODI v India, Mohali 7pm

Mar 13 5th ODI v India, Delhi 7pm

Late March: five ODIs v Pakistan, dates, venues TBC

Mar 28 Bans expire for Steve Smith and David Warner

Mar 29 IPL 2019 season begins

Apr 23 Deadline for nations to name their 15-man World Cup squad

Early May: Australia v New Zealand 50-over practice matches, Brisbane

May 19 IPL 2019 final

May 25 Australia v England, Hampshire, World Cup warm-up

May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Hampshire, World Cup warm-up

June 01 Afghanistan v Australia, Bristol (D/N) 10.30pm

June 06 Australia v West Indies, Trent Bridge 7.30pm

June 09 India v Australia, The Oval 7.30pm

June 12 Australia v Pakistan, Taunton 7.30pm

June 15 Sri Lanka v Australia, The Oval 7.30pm

June 20 Australia v Bangladesh, Trent Bridge 7.30pm

Aus A v Northants (50-over)

June 23 Aus A v Derbyshire (50-over)

June 25 England v Australia, Lord's 7.30pm

Aus A v Worcestershire (50-over)

June 29 New Zealand v Australia, Lord's (D/N) 10.30pm

June 30 Aus A v Gloucestershire (50-over)

July 02 Women's Ashes 1st ODI, Grace Road 11pm

Aus A v Gloucestershire (50-over)

July 04 Women's Ashes 2nd ODI, Grace Road 11pm

July 06 Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N) 10.30pm

July 07 Women's Ashes 3rd ODI, Canterbury 8pm

July 7-10 Aus A v Sussex, Arundel

July 09 World Cup Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford 7.30pm

July 11 World Cup Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston 7.30pm

July 14 World Cup Final, Lord's 7.30pm

July 14-17 Australia A v England Lions, Canterbury

July 18-21 Women's Ashes Test, Taunton, Somerset 8pm

July 23-26 Australia v Australia A, Rose Bowl

July 26 Women's Ashes 1st T20, Chelmsford 4am (July 27)

July 28 Women's Ashes 2nd T20, Hove 11pm

July 31 Women's Ashes 3rd T20, Bristol 4am (Aug 1)

Aug 01-05 First Ashes Test, Edgbaston, Birmingham 8pm

Aug 07-09 Tour match, Australia v Worcester

Aug 14-18 Second Ashes Test, Lord's, London 8pm

Aug 22-26 Third Ashes Test, Headingley, Leeds 8pm

Aug 29-31 Tour match, Australia v Derbyshire

Aug-Sept: Australia Women's tour of the Caribbean*

Sept 04-08 Fourth Ashes Test, Old Trafford, Manchester 8pm

Sept 12-16 Fifth Ashes Test, The Oval, London 8pm

Sept: Australia Women's home series with Sri Lanka*

*Details still TBC