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SYDNEY, April 16: Australia will host Zimbabwe for the first time in a Test series later this year as part of their build-up to a four-match series with India, the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) announced on Wednesday.
The historic two-match series with Zimbabwe will be played in October with the first Test in Perth from Oct 9 to 13 and the second in Sydney from Oct 17 to 21.
The Africans will also join Australia and India in a triangular one-day series in the first two months of 2004 after those teams have played two Tests.
The Australians, who beat India in this year’s World Cup final, will travel to India in November for a triangular one-day series, before returning home to play them again in four Tests, in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
Zimbabwe will play five other matches on tour in Australia, including one first-class match against Western Australia, while India play two first-class matches against Victoria and Australia ‘A’.
The Australians normally only play at home between November and February but ACB chief executive James Sutherland said they had been forced to break from the traditional schedule to fit in with the International Cricket Council’s 10-year programme.
“Nine out of 10 Test nations stage their cricket seasons at the same time of year, so there is an ongoing need to share the October to March period,” Sutherland said in a statement.
“Our plan to tour India in November is an example of implementing the reciprocal arrangements with India and a consequence of sharing the same cricket season.”
Zimbabwe’s itinerary:
Oct 1: v ACB Chairman’s XI (Lilac Hill).
Oct 3-5: v Western Australia (Perth).
Oct 9-13: First Test (Perth).
Oct 17-21: Second Test (Sydney).
Jan 1: v Australia ‘A’ (Perth).
Jan 4: v Western Australia (Perth, D/N).
Jan 7: v Australia ‘A’ (Adelaide, D/N).
India’s itinerary:
Nov 27-29: v Victoria (Melbourne).
Dec 1: v Prime Minister’s XI (Canberra).
Dec 4-8: First Test (Brisbane).
Dec 12-16: Second Test (Adelaide).
Dec 19-21: v Australia ‘A’ (Hobart).
Dec 26-30: Third Test (Melbourne).
Jan 2-6: Fourth Test (Sydney).
Triangular one-day series:
Jan 9: Australia v India (Melbourne, D/N).
Jan 11: Australia v Zimbabwe (Sydney, D/N).
Jan 14: India v Zimbabwe (Hobart).
Jan 16: Australia v Zimbabwe (Hobart).
Jan 18: Australia v India (Brisbane, D/N).
Jan 20: India v Zimbabwe (Brisbane, D/N).
Jan 22: Australia v India (Sydney, D/N).
Jan 24: India v Zimbabwe (Adelaide, D/N).
Jan 26: Australia v Zimbabwe (Adelaide, D/N).
Jan 29: Australia v Zimbabwe (Melbourne, D/N).
Feb 1: Australia v India (Perth).
Feb 3: India v Zimbabwe (Perth, D/N).
Feb 6: First final (Melbourne, D/N).
Feb 8: Second final (Sydney, D/N).
Feb 10: Third final if required (Brisbane, D/N).—Reuters
