Having missed the historic World Cup final between Australia and India at the MCG in 2020 through injury, champion cricketer Ellyse Perry cannot wait to play in a groundbreaking Test to cap the Ashes at the famous ground in Melbourne next summer.
In another sign of the growing belief in the crowd-drawing capacity of elite female sport, the MCG will host a women’s Test match for the first time since 1948/49 from January 30 next year.
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Perry, who missed the World Cup final which drew more than 86,000 fans to the MCG shortly before the onset of the pandemic with a hamstring injury, said it is a significant moment for women’s cricket.
“An occasion like the Ashes series, we all saw that fixture and thought, ‘What an amazing opportunity’ and (considered) how much possibility that also carries in terms of what it could do for the game,” Perry said.
“It is an amazing ground and it carries so much history through Australian sport and obviously cricket is a big part of it. To be talking about playing on the MCG in an Ashes Test match … in a calendar year is pretty exciting for us.
“I think all the girls are really looking forward to that. It’s a phenomenal ground. It’s so grand in so many respects and as you mentioned, we’ve got a great history with it.
“With the Test match being at the end of the series as well, it could be really important for a team needing to push for a victory in order to secure the Ashes.”
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The Ashes Series begins with three one-day internationals, the first of which will be played at North Sydney Oval on January 12 next year, with matches at the Junction Oval in Melbourne and Bellerive Oval in Hobart to follow.
In another highlight of the women’s Ashes, a T20 will be held at the SCG against England on January 20, with games also being held in Canberra and at Adelaide Oval that week prior to the celebratory Test at the MCG.
Cricket Australia’s head of operations and scheduling Peter Roach said on Tuesday the decision to host the Ashes Test in a stadium with a capacity of 100,000 was part of a strategy to further the promotion of the champion side led by Alyssa Healy.
The match is being held as part of a celebration of the 90th anniversary of the first women’s Test held between Australia and England and it has the backing of both the Victorian Government and the MCC.
The four-day Test begins in the week following the Australian Open in Melbourne and it is hoped that there will be a strong international presence in the Victorian capital.
“Crowds are not my thing but we are looking to do is to really keep pushing this space and trying to get our women on the major venues where possible and this was an opportunity against England just to just to keep that momentum going and challenge ourselves to grow crowds above what the expectations are around the community,” Roach said.
“We know we’re going to get great support from the MCC and the Victorian Government around this match. We would expect the fans of cricket to be really supportive of coming along to that game and hopefully giving us … a surprisingly strong crowd to what will hopefully be a fitting conclusion to a tight series.”
Perry, who is in Bangladesh with an Australian team currently leading the host nation 2-0 ahead of the final ODI match of the series in Mirpur on Wednesday, is confident the Ashes Test will draw strong crowds.
“I’d be hesitant to put a number on it at this stage, but I think it’s really, really cool that there’s so much support around this fixture and also a very clear intention to put a lot of time and effort into marketing it and to making sure that we’ve got a really good crowd there, not just for the first day, but I think for all four days,” she said.
The Australian superstar is hopeful scheduling matches at venues like the MCG and SCG next summer will become the norm rather than a curiosity in the future.
“I think that’s the aspiration for everyone involved, is to start to regularly play at the best stadiums around the country and most importantly have really good crowds attend those matches,” she said.
“I think that’s the next evolution for women’s cricket, but more globally as well, for women’s sport. We’re starting to see that happen more and more often across the board, so it’s a really exciting time for everyone.”
The decision to reduce the Test to four days is certain to prompt questions and Perry said her bias skewed towards five days, but that more time is needed to ascertain which length is preferable.
“Probably people far smarter than me have got good ways to understand that out … but I think it is piece we probably need to work on, because the more Test cricket we play, the more this question is going to be asked,” she said.
Australia will host New Zealand in a three-game T20 series in Mackay and Brisbane in September prior to the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in October.
The women’s team then hosts India in a three match ODI series in December, which clashes with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, before a brief tour of New Zealand prior to Christmas.
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