England plan pink-ball warm-up before anniversary Test at MCG

England are planning to play a pink-ball warm-up match before the 150th anniversary Test against Australia in Melbourne next year.

The Ashes rivals are playing a one-off day-night Test from 11 March 2027 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Test match between the sides on the same ground in 1877.

England were heavily beaten 4-1 in this winter’s Ashes series and their preparation was heavily criticised.

They played one in-house warm-up against England Lions before the series and did not play a match against the pink ball before the day-night second Test in Brisbane.

Coach Brendon McCullum admitted England may have made mistakes with their preparation after they conceded the series at the earliest opportunity with defeat in the third Test in Adelaide.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have held talks with Cricket Australia (CA) over a reciprocal arrangement that would mean touring teams are provided with better preparation before Ashes series.

Melbourne’s Junction Oval is one possible host of the warm-up before the anniversary Test, though nothing has been confirmed and England have plenty of time to change their mind.

England have lost all four of their day-night Tests in Australia and there is unlikely to be such a match in the next Ashes series down under. Batter Joe Root questioned whether the pink-ball matches were necessary during the Ashes.

The 2026-27 winter is set to be particularly busy for England’s multi-format players.

After the home summer concludes on 27 September, they will play a 50-over tri-series in Pakistan, possibly also including Sri Lanka, from mid-October before travelling to Australia for a white-ball tour in November.

In December they have a three-Test series against world champions South Africa. That is scheduled to be part of a multi-format tour but the T20 leg, in particular, is in doubt because of a potential clash with South Africa’s franchise T20 competition, the SA20.

England will also play two Tests against Bangladesh in February, after which their players will likely travel directly to Australia.