Three-test series set to be axed

Three-test series at home look a thing of the past, as New Zealand Cricket confirms it has lopped one off the West Indies tour in December to bring the itinerary into line with a mooted test championship.

The long-awaited home schedule was released by NZC today, featuring just four tests as it remains hopeful of staging the country’s first day-night test against England at Auckland’s Eden Park on March 22-26.

West Indies will open a summer of 43 scheduled days with tests in Wellington on December 1-5 and Hamilton on December 9-13, followed by three ODIS and three Twenty20 internationals across Christchurch, Nelson and Tauranga in the holiday period.

It means Christchurch’s Hagley Oval, which will host the second England test from March 30-April 3, misses out on a December West Indies test which it was pencilled in for last year.

NZC chief executive David White said the rejigged West Indies schedule was the template for future tours.

‘‘We’re hopeful in October the new test match championship will be signed off [by the International Cricket Council]. In terms of format, what we’re likely to see in the future is two tours, each comprising two tests, three ODIS and three T20s. That will be the standard schedule for an international season,’’ White said.

White said the term ‘test series’ would essentially become irrelevant under the new format, with points from each match counting towards the test championship. The nine test-playing nations will be required to play a minimum of two home and two away series a year, each comprising a minimum of two tests, three ODIS and three T20s.

Exceptions would be longestablished series like the Ashes.

England will be the headline act of the season, starting with a T20 tri-series also including Australia on both sides of the Tasman, then five ODIS and two tests.

The first test will be played at Eden Park regardless, but the 2pm start time and use of a pink ball under floodlights has an asterisk.

The Eden Park Trust applied on April 7 for resource consent required for the Sunday night

(March 25) under the regulations of the council’s unitary plan. The hearing finished this week and decisions can take up to 15 working days to be released.