Australia likely to stage first ICC Test Championship decider

A resurgence in the size of Test cricketing attendances at its home venues has been among the most notable by-products of the Australian team's phenomenal run of success over recent years. But, enlivened as it is by the likelihood that it will feature the first official head-to-head battle for world Test cricketing supremacy, comes the prospect of even greater renaissance in 2001-02.

In today's announcement of the itineraries for the twin Test tours by New Zealand and South Africa - complemented by the renewal of airline Ansett Australia's sponsorship of five-day cricket in Australia for a further five seasons - the Australian Cricket Board has confirmed that it will be Australia's series against the latter which will assume star billing. The Proteas have been drawn to play the opening game of their three-match series in mid-December in Adelaide and will then take on the home team in the two feature matches of the Test summer: the back-to-back contests in Melbourne and Sydney over the Christmas/New Year period.

Under the International Cricket Council's recently-introduced Test rankings system, the prospect that the two teams will be playing off for the chance to assume Test bragging rights is contingent upon the outcomes of intervening series.

Disappointing results in the Australians' upcoming Ashes contest against England and their tussle against New Zealand could spell an early end to their reign, while the South Africans may lose the chance to challenge Australia for ownership of the number one mantle if they perform poorly in fixtures against Zimbabwe and India in September and October respectively.

But the chance of a direct bout for the title of world champion still looms as a genuine possibility.

South Africa's tour will open with the annual festival-style one-day match against the ACB Chairman's XI at Lilac Hill in Perth on 5 December and will also take in four-day matches against state teams Western Australia and New South Wales as well as the three Tests.

For the New Zealanders, meanwhile, their visit during the early part of the Australian summer will again feature Tests in Brisbane, Hobart and Perth. That scheduling continues a well-entrenched pattern that has already seen more than thirteen years pass since they last played in a Test match in Australia outside of any of those three venues - the previous such instance having occurred in 1987-88 when the two teams played out a thrilling draw in front of a captivated crowd in Melbourne.

The Black Caps' 2001-02 tour will open with a match against state team Queensland in Brisbane in the opening week of November and will also include a one-day encounter with the Prime Minister's XI and a four-day match against South Australia.