Cricket: Black Caps set for unique tour of Australia

Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson. Photosport

The Black Caps will tour Australia in September for the first time with a spring ODI series in Cairns revealed today.

The two sides will clash in a three-match ODI series with all the matches taking place in northern Queensland.

It's a first for the Black Caps in terms of touring Australia outside of the traditional 'cricket season' with September usually taken up by the oval ball codes. The All Blacks and Wallabies won't face each other for the first time this year until September 15.

The Black Caps were scheduled to play three ODIs against Australia earlier this year as well as a sole Twenty20 but the series was cancelled due to the Omicron outbreak.

New Zealand was also meant to host Australia for three Twenty20s in March which were also cancelled.

The last time New Zealand toured Australia for an ODI series in 2020, the opening match was played in Sydney in front of an empty stadium before the pandemic forced border closures and a cancellation of the series.

The latest series announced today as part of a stacked home schedule for Australia. They will host tours by Zimbabwe, New Zealand, West Indies, England and South Africa along with the Twenty20 World Cup in October.

South Africa will play in this year's Boxing Day test as part of a three-test series.

Black Caps v Australia
September 6: Cazalys Stadium, Cairns (D/N)
September 8: Cazalys Stadium, Cairns (D/N)
September 11: Cazalys Stadium, Cairns (D/N)