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 October 9 to 13 and the second in Sydney from October 17 to 21. The Africans will also join Australia and India in a 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. The schedule TESTS — Oct 9-13: 1st Test - Australia vs Zimbabwe (Perth); Oct 17-21: 2nd Test - Australia vs Zimbabwe (Sydney); Dec 4-8: 1st Test - Australia vs India (Brisbane); Dec 12-16: 2nd Test - Australia vs India (Adelaide); Dec 26-30: 3rd Test - Australia vs India (Melbourne); Jan 2-6: 4th Test - Australia vs India (Sydney) TRI-SERIES— Jan 9: Australia vs India (Melbourne d/n); Jan 11: Australia vs Zimbabwe (Sydeny d/n); Jan 14: India vs Zimbabwe (Hobart); Jan 16: Australia vs Zimbabwe (Hobart); Jan 18: Australia vs India (Brisbane d/n); Jan 20: India vs Zimbabwe (Brisbane d/n); Jan 22: Australia vs India (Sydney d/n); Jan 24: India vs Zimbabwe (Adelaide d/n); Jan 26: Australia vs Zimbabwe (Adelaide d/n); Jan 29: Australia vs Zimbabwe (Melbourne d/n); Feb 1: Australia vs India (Perth); Feb 3: India vs Zimbabwe (Perth d/n); Feb 6: 1st final (Melbourne d/n); Feb 8: 2nd final (Sydney d/n); Feb 10: 3rd final (Brisbane d/n) - if required 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.”
