Cricket Australia has confirmed that Darwin and Mackay will host the Australia vs Bangladesh Test series in August, marking the return of international Test cricket to northern Australia after more than two decades.
The first of the two-match Australia vs Bangladesh Test series will begin on August 13 at Marrara Stadium in Darwin, Northern Territory. It will be the first men’s Test in Darwin since July 2004, when Australia hosted Sri Lanka.
The second test will take place from August 22 to 26 at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay, Queensland. The fixture will make Mackay the 12th venue in Australia to stage a men’s Test match and Queensland’s only Test of the 2026–27 home international season.
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said the board was pleased to bring Test cricket back to northern Australia. “We’re delighted to bring Test cricket to northern Australia and look forward to a fantastic series against Bangladesh,” he said.
Greenberg noted that the international cricket calendar is increasingly crowded, adding that access to high-quality venues in August provides an additional window for hosting Tests outside the traditional summer schedule.
The Bangladesh Tests will mark the beginning of Australia’s 2026–27 home international season. Brisbane’s Gabba will not host a Test during New Zealand’s four-Test tour in December-January due to earlier uncertainty related to planning for the 2032 Olympic Games, according to Cricket Australia.
Darwin previously hosted Bangladesh in 2003 and Sri Lanka in 2004. Australia had not played an international fixture there since 2008 until South Africa staged two T20 internationals in Darwin last August on a drop-in pitch.
The series will be Bangladesh’s second Test tour of Australia and their first since 2003. The ninth-ranked side have not faced Australia in Test cricket since securing their maiden win over them in Dhaka in 2017. A proposed Australian tour of Bangladesh in 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic, making this the first bilateral Test meeting between the two sides in the World Test Championship era.
Bangladesh have historically struggled in away conditions but have recorded overseas Test victories against West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand since 2022, signalling improved competitiveness.
After the Bangladesh series, Australia will travel to South Africa in October for a three-Test series in Durban, Gqeberha and Cape Town.
Series schedule:
First Test: August 13–17, Marrara Stadium, Darwin
Second Test: August 22–26, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay
