England to warm up against Prime Minister's XI ahead of 150th anniversary Test

England will play a warm-up match against Prime Minister’s XI before their much-awaited 150th anniversary Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in 2027. The three-day day/night fixture will be played at Junction Oval in Melbourne beginning on March 4, instead of Manuka Oval in Canberra, which has traditionally served as the venue for the Prime Minister's XI match.

England have requested a practice match before the game, which will celebrate 150 years of Test cricket, and the arrangement will be reciprocated when Australia tour England for the 2027 Ashes, where they will also be provided proper warm-up fixtures.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the 150^th anniversary Test a special occasion for cricket fans and said that he looks forward to helping select a Prime Minister’s XI side which will take on England.

"The Prime Minister's XI match has a proud place in Australian cricket history and it's fitting the XI will take on the best England can throw at us ahead of the one-off Test. The 150th Anniversary Test will be a special occasion for cricket fans across Australia and around the world, and I look forward to helping select a Prime Minister's XI that will provide a terrific contest in the lead-up to that historic match,” said Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Both teams will have a tight turnaround heading into the anniversary Test, as Australia will be coming after finishing a five-match Test series in India on March 3, while England will be coming straight from Bangladesh.

England faced criticism over their preparations for the last Ashes series in Australia in 2025-26 after opting for an intra-squad match at Lilac Hill in Perth instead of accepting offers to play warm-up fixtures in Adelaide or Melbourne. England had also sought permission to use WACA as their training base in Perth, which was denied by Cricket Australia (CA).

New Zealand to not get warm-up game ahead of Test series

Since then, the two cricket boards have reached an agreement to ensure more suitable warm-up matches are arranged for future Ashes series. The Prime Minister's XI fixture last season gave England an opportunity to prepare for the day-night Test in Brisbane, but the visitors chose to field their England A side in the two-day pink-ball match.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's men's team, which tours Australia for a four-Test series in December, will not play a warm-up match as they will be coming straight from a home series against India. Bangladesh, however, is scheduled to face a Cricket Australia XI in Darwin ahead of their Test series in August.