Cricket: Fresh scheduling opportunities for Black Caps

New Zealand might host another Boxing Day test this year, but there is no chance they will be walking on to the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground. Photo / Getty Images.

New Zealand might host another Boxing Day test this year, but there is no chance they will be walking on to the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground to face Australia on December 26.

In the wake of the successful test against Sri Lanka -- the sixth home test to start on Boxing Day, and first in 11 years -- fresh scheduling possibilities have opened up for New Zealand Cricket.

But being able to twist Cricket Australia's arm to have New Zealand replace the West Indies as next summer's opponent for the premier occasion on CA's calendar simply won't happen.

There would be a significant ripple effect. Schedules are worked out years in advance and, bluntly, New Zealand's appeal in economic terms is small compared to other countries -- even though purely in playing terms right now it would be a no contest against the weak and shambolic West Indies.

That's not to say NZC aren't pushing hard to get back on the MCG -- the most recent of three appearances there was in 1987 -- and strong on-field form can only help the cause.

But the next opportunity for that won't come until the reworked Future Tours Programme is released hopefully in the next couple of months.

New Zealand are scheduled for three tests before next Christmas, and the venues are almost certain to be Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart.

After that, New Zealand's next trip across the Tasman is likely to be early 2017 for a series of limited-overs internationals.

However, Hagley Oval's impressive test debut will sharpen debate around the NZC board table about the way forward.

There's no guarantee of a Boxing Day test next summer -- the tourists will be Pakistan -- as it comes down to timing, both Pakistan's and New Zealand's.

Another issue is workload. If New Zealand arrived home on the back of three tests in Australia, then had three more against Pakistan, it would have to fit around contractual obligations.

But NZC are chuffed at the way Hagley Oval played out. Australia come to New Zealand in the second half of next summer, and Canterbury Cricket has given itself a fighting chance of getting a second crack as test host.

Pencil in Eden Park and the Basin Reserve. But there is the possibility of a decent duel between Hamilton's Seddon Park and Christchurch to host a premier test.

NZC's general manager of cricket Lindsay Crocker didn't want to get into a debate on the merits of the two against each other. However Hagley Oval clearly impressed him.

"It looked great from a presentation point of view, and live there was a really good feeling," he said.

"The setting was great because the ground is in an established (cricket) area. The players felt the atmosphere was good in the middle, and so were the pitch conditions, and you want to make sure you play tests on pitches that produce attractive cricket and get results, so it was ticks all round."

New Zealand have six current test venues -- in Auckland, Hamilton, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. There are six tests to be allocated next season.

It may be timing makes a test on December 26 impractical every summer. There is scope for an ODI, or T20, but even they're not a given.

"The success of Boxing Day in Christchurch has certainly given us an opportunity of having Boxing Day tests, if not as annual events then certainly something we'd consider more strongly than we have in the past," Crocker said.

NZH lb