Australia women could play a rare Test match against India in September as part of a multi-format series.
Cricket Australia has pencilled in a series against India at the start of the international season but the schedule is yet to be approved by the BCCI.
Sporting News understands a Test has been included in the proposal to the BCCI but it is unclear if it would comprise part of a series based on a points system across three formats, in a similar fashion to the Women’s Ashes.
If the Test goes ahead it will be just the sixth played between Australia and India and the first since 2006, when Australia won a stand alone match at Adelaide Oval.
India last played Test cricket in 2014, when they won a stand alone match way against England and then were successful at home to South Africa.
They will play a single Test in June during a tour of England which will also include three ODIs and three T20Is.
Australia’s female players have publicly expressed their desire to play more red ball cricket and the inclusion of a four-day match against India would allow them to play two Tests in the space of five months, with a Test at Manuka Oval in January included in the multi-format Women’s Ashes series.
"From a players’ perspective the Ashes is really a flagship series," said vice-captain Rachael Haynes, speaking at the fixtures announcement in Sydney.
"Personally, it’s one of the series we look forward to the most given it’s multi-format, we get to play a Test match and it really is the team who performs the best across all three formats of the game wins the trophy.
"From a playing perspective, it’s a really big challenge. It’s a test of your skills, being able to adapt and overcome different challenges along the way, I know the playing group really looks forward to.
"It’s generally a really close and well-fought out contest as well, so we’re looking forward to hosting England later on in the year."
Haynes made her international debut in an ODI in 2009 and played her first Test soon after but, despite being one of Australia’s most experienced players, she has played just four Tests since her debut and only two at home.
She played in Australia’s most recent Test during the 2019 Ashes series in England.
"We know the legacy of Test cricket in Australia and certainly from our perspective we really enjoy the chance to wear the baggy green," Haynes said.
"We’d like to do it a little bit more often than we do, but we know that every time the Ashes comes around, whether we’re playing home or away, the Test match forms part of it.
"Perhaps down the track it’s something we do more of, but I know everyone is really keen to make sure they’re in that starting XI for the Test."
