How will this year's tournament work?
Complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic will result in the latest ever finish to a domestic one-day competition, with the tournament to run from February 15-April 11. Each state will contest five matches – reduced from seven in the last edition of the Marsh One-Day Cup in 2019 – before the top two advance to the final. The Marsh Sheffield Shield will run concurrently, making for a feast of state cricket in coming weeks.
CA, the players' union (the Australian Cricketers' Association) and the states and territories have agreed to reduce the number of matches to minimise "the extraordinary demands" placed on players, coaches and officials this season, most of whom have been in a bio-secure environment of some kind for much of the past four months.
GET THE FULL FIXTURE HERE
How can I watch?
Every game of the Marsh Cup will be streamed live and free on cricket.com.au and via the CA Live app as well as streaming service Kayo Sports, while 12 of the 16 matches will also be shown on Fox Cricket, including the final.
Not signed up to Kayo yet?
You should be! It's the only place you can live stream every international match as well as bulk domestic action throughout the season, including the Marsh Cup and the Sheffield Shield final. New Kayo customers can get a 14-day trial clicking HERE.
What about live scores & highlights?
You're in the right place! Cricket.com.au and the CA Live app will have live scores of every game of the Marsh Cup as well as exclusive highlights, reports and interviews throughout the competition.
Where will the matches be played?
Games have again been fixtured to be played in all six major cities. Boutique grounds like Melbourne's Junction Oval, Brisbane's Allan Border Field and North Sydney Oval will be used again, while matches will also be staged at some of Australia's major venues, including the WACA, Adelaide Oval, the Gabba and Hobart's Blundstone Arena.
But venues may change pending restrictions on borders and the public health situation in each state.
Can people attend matches?
Each relevant state will make determinations about crowd attendance based on the public health situation at the time.
The season opener between NSW and Victoria at North Sydney Oval on Monday will be open to the public, with 1000 free tickets available. In line with COVID-19 protocols, those planning to attend must redeem their free ticket online prior to entry and sit in the area designated to them. Click HERE to access tickets
Is there a finals series?
There's no finals series, just a grand final on April 11 between the top two teams at the end of the preliminary matches. A venue is yet to be determined but it is planned to be hosted at the home venue of the team that finishes first.
Who's playing?
The tournament is set to showcase some of the country's leading players after Australia's Test tour of South Africa was postponed. This means the opening match between NSW and Victoria could, subject to availability and fitness, feature the likes of Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Moises Henriques, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Marcus Harris and James Pattinson.
Queensland duo Marnus Labuschagne, Mark Steketee and Mitch Swepson could also take the field, along with Travis Head, Alex Carey (both South Australia), Test captain Tim Paine (Tasmania) and Cameron Green (Western Australia).
Several big names are expected to leave Australia before the end of the season to take part in the 2021 Indian Premier League – which will reportedly start on April 11 – while some members of Australia's T20 squad currently in New Zealand are expected to return to their state sides once that tour finishes on March 7.
The squads
NSW: (Squad for game v Victoria on Feb 15) Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Harry Conway, Oliver Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Liam Hatcher, Matthew Gilkes, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Nathan Lyon, Kurtis Patterson, Steve Smith
Victoria: (Squad for game v NSW on Feb 15) Peter Handscomb (c), Xavier Crone, Zak Evans, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Jon Holland, Nic Maddinson, James Pattinson, Matt Short, Will Sutherland
Queensland: (Squad for game v Tasmania on Feb 22) Usman Khawaja (c), Xavier Bartlett, Joe Burns, Brendan Doggett, Sam Heazlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Billy Stanlake, Mark Steketee, Jack Wildermuth
Tasmania: (Full squad) Tom Andrews, Gabe Bell, Jackson Bird, Alex Doolan, Jake Doran, Nathan Ellis, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Tim Paine, Alex Pyecroft, Sam Rainbird, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Jordan Silk, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Beau Webster, Mac Wright.
South Australia: (Full squad) Wes Agar, Will Bosisto, Alex Carey, Tom Cooper, Brad Davis, Daniel Drew, Callum Ferguson, David Grant, Travis Head, Henry Hunt, Jake Lehmann, Conor McInerney, Joe Mennie, Harry Nielsen, Lloyd Pope, Kane Richardson*, Luke Robins, Chadd Sayers, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald, Nick Winter, Daniel Worrall
Western Australia: (Full squad) Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Jake Carder, Hilton Cartwright, Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green, Liam Guthrie, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Lance Morris, Liam O'Connor, Joel Paris, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson*, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Sam Whiteman
The fixture
ALL matches to be live streamed on cricket.com.au and Kayo Sports
* denotes match also shown on Fox Cricket
Feb 15: New South Wales v Victoria (North Sydney Oval)*
Feb 22: Tasmania v Queensland (Blundstone Arena)*
Mar 2: Western Australia v South Australia (WACA Ground)*
Mar 4: South Australia v New South Wales (Adelaide Oval) (D/N)
Mar 10: Victoria v Tasmania (CitiPower Centre)*
Mar 11: Queensland v Western Australia (Gabba)*
Mar 12: South Australia v Tasmania (CitiPower Centre)*
Mar 14: New South Wales v Western Australia (North Sydney Oval)*
Mar 18: Tasmania v New South Wales (Blundstone Arena)*
Mar 20: Queensland v Victoria (Allan Border Field)*
Mar 23: Western Australia v Victoria (WACA Ground)
Mar 28: Queensland v South Australia (Allan Border Field)
Mar 31: New South Wales v Queensland (North Sydney Oval) (D/N)*
Apr 8: Victoria v South Australia (CitiPower Centre)*
Apr 8: Western Australia v Tasmania (WACA Ground)
Apr 11: Final (Venue TBC)*
