Australia-India ODI moved to Hobart after floodlight delays at Melbourne

Published - 10 Sept 2025, 10:40 IST | Updated - 10 Sept 2025, 11:10 IST

Cricket Australia has moved the third women’s ODI between Australia and India of the 2026 tour, originally scheduled as a day-night fixture at Melbourne’s Junction Oval on March 1, to Hobart’s Bellerive Oval. The shift is the result of delays in installing new floodlights at Junction Oval and the tight schedule.

The multi-format India tour was built around an Australian home window shifted to February–March because of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) moving to January and the ODI World Cup later in the year. The series’ itinerary originally placed three T20Is in mid-February, followed by three ODIs (Feb 24, Feb 27, and Mar 1) and a day-night Test in Perth early March.

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Notably, the Junction Oval’s new floodlights will not be ready in time. Installation and commissioning work and the associated spectator access during construction meant the ground was not being safely or practically able to host an international under lights on the scheduled date. Cricket Australia had anticipated the lights being completed several weeks before the fixture.

Given the schedule’s constraint of just one day between the second and third ODIs, organisers concluded switching the March 1 fixture to a daytime start was not a viable option. Cricket Australia’s head of operations, Peter Roach, expressed disappointment at losing a Melbourne international this season, stressing the body had been looking forward to the Junction Oval’s first floodlit international.

"We are disappointed we have had to move this match from Junction Oval and that there will be no women's international match in Melbourne this season. We anticipated the Junction Oval lights would be installed several weeks before this fixture and were looking forward to celebrating the first international match under lights at the ground," Peter Roach, CA's head of cricket operations and scheduling, said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Meanwhile, Hobart now hosts back-to-back ODIs in the series, removing travel and accommodation logistics for teams, broadcasters, and officials. Fans who purchased tickets for the Junction Oval fixture will receive refunds, according to Cricket Australia’s notice. Meanwhile, Junction Oval’s calendar is set to be busy as it will continue to host WBBL fixtures for Melbourne Stars and Renegades and other domestic daytime cricket as planned, rather than international night games while the lights project is completed.