Cricket Australia Moot Ashes Extension

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that Cricket Australia are keen to extend future Ashes series to include a sixth Test. A CA board meeting is being held on Thursday, and the structure of future tours is one of the key issues up for discussion.

Six Ashes Tests would enable a match to be played in every state, something which last happened in 1978/79. CA have confirmed that they would be willing to reciprocate with a sixth Test in England in 2010/11. "That is a current area of discussion that is still underway and we don't know what the outcome will be," CA spokesman Peter Young told the paper. "It is known that our preference is for six Tests because it allows us to play one in every state."

In England various administrators are also pushing to change the cycle of Ashes series to avoid clashes with the World Cup. The proximity of the 2011 tournament in India to the 2010/11 Ashes series is one of the main stumbling points in the plan to add a sixth Test.

In the short term, CA is finalizing the visits of New Zealand and South Africa next summer and is planning to scrap its triangular tournament in favor of two separate head-to-head five-match series. The triangular series is still expected to be resurrected in future seasons.