Perth Stadium to get first India cricket Test as Gabba snubbed again

The Gabba is set to once again miss out on hosting the opening Test of the home summer with Perth getting the nod to kick start Australia's five-Test series with India at the end of the year. Perth Stadium will reportedly be named as the venue of the first match of the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign, according to a report from the Sydney Morning Herald.

Adelaide and Brisbane will host the second and third Tests respectively, with the Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests keeping their traditional timeslots in Melbourne and Sydney. Australia’s Test summer traditionally kicks off at the Gabba, but the Brisbane venue hasn't had the honour since the 2021/22 Ashes series.

The Queensland capital used to be viewed as the nation’s fortress, with Australia undefeated at the Gabba between 1988 and 2021. But more recently the international side has suffered dramatic losses to India and the West Indies in Brisbane. While Queensland had hoped it would return as the traditional host of the first Test, it will have the consolation of its Test running into the school holidays, increasing its chances of attracting a big crowd.

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Perth hosted the opening Test in Australia’s two previous home summers - a 164-run victory over the West Indies in 2022 and a 360-run triumph over Pakistan in 2023. Australia has never lost a Test match at Perth Stadium, remaining undefeated at the 60,000-capacity venue in all four matches and all wins have been by decisive margins. The smallest winning margin at the stadium was a 146-run win against India when they last toured in 2018-19.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the summer, Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins said he did not "have a strong opinion" on which venue should get the first Test of the summer. "I think the last few years … they are all quite Australian wickets with fast, bouncy wickets with sideways movement. I’m not too fussed, to be honest," he said.

The Australian season will begin with three one-day matches and three T20 internationals against Pakistan in November before the Test series gets underway against India. Cricket Australia is yet to release the full summer schedule, with an announcement expected by the end of the month after the Big Bash and Women's Big Bash schedules are finalised. But the reports about the Gabba missing out on the first Test haven't gone down well.

Pat Cummins doesn't want to see changes made to the Test side

Cummins believes Australia should celebrate the gritty victories across the 2023/24 Australian summer, rather than worry about who will be in the Test side come the end of the year. "It's similar to almost the ODI World Cup where you keep finding a way to win, even if at times, it's not fully functioning, the whole unit," Cummins said following Australia's Test series win over New Zealand.

"At times I don't think we played our best cricket and still found a way to win. A couple of previous summers we've blown teams out of the water. This summer wasn't the case but at the key moment someone stood up and we found a way to win, so really proud of the group."

Australia's Test side enjoyed a clean sweep of Pakistan at home before drawing 1-1 with the West Indies. They then went 2-0 against the Kiwis and Cummins says on results it is hard not to call this summer a success.

"Six out of seven Tests (won), you'd certainly take that. Some big series wins," he said. "At least half the team has played 50 Test matches, that's pretty hard to replicate. In those key moments, being able to draw on that knowledge of guys that have played all around the world, it's valuable. We're in no rush to make rash changes."

with AAP

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