Boxing Day given another test with domestic Twenty20

Boxing Day has always been an occasion to indulge in cricket, but this year there will be even more on offer with a domestic Twenty20 game expected to be added to the public holiday. Cricket Australia is planning a major review of the tournament in Australia as it tries to develop its own version of the Indian Premier League, but it has resisted the urge to tinker immediately and there are only minor changes to the 2008-09 scheduling, which includes the addition of a preliminary final to the fixture list.

A revised draft of the season plan shows the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash will begin with a night match between Queensland and New South Wales at the Gabba on Boxing Day and another three games will be held in the same week as the MCG Test. Last season the tournament, which is preparing for its fourth summer in Australia, began on New Year's Eve and the top two teams after the preliminary rounds went through to the decider. Victoria won the competition for the third year in a row.

The period from Boxing Day to the final on January 24 will be blocked off for domestic Twenty20 fixtures, although appearances from Australia's major players will be prevented by the staging of the Test and limited-overs matches involving South Africa. Twelve of the 17 inter-state contests will be televised on Fox Sports, with each team involved in five rounds before the two finals.

Twenty-two of the 50-over FR Cup fixtures will be broadcast, starting with the season opener between Western Australia and New South Wales on October 15. The Pura Cup is due to begin on October 10 with matches between Queensland and Tasmania and the Warriors and the Blues.