Floodlight Delays Force Australia-India Women's ODI to Move from Melbourne to Hobart

Floodlight Delays Force Australia-India Women's ODI to Move from Melbourne to Hobart

Cricket Australia has confirmed that the third women’s ODI between Australia and India, originally scheduled for Junction Oval in Melbourne on March 1, has been relocated to Hobart due to delays in the installation of floodlights at the venue.

The fixture was set to be the first floodlit international match at Junction Oval. However, planning setbacks and ongoing construction work — which would have also restricted spectator access — prompted the decision to move the match. As a result, Hobart will now host back-to-back ODIs in the multi-format series.

With just one day separating the second and third ODIs, Cricket Australia deemed it logistically unfeasible to convert the Melbourne fixture into a day game. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was also ruled out due to ongoing renovations.

“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,” said Peter Roach, CA’s Head of Cricket Operations and Scheduling.

“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.”

Despite the setback, Junction Oval will continue to host daytime WBBL matches featuring Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades, along with other scheduled domestic fixtures.

A Busy Schedule for the Women’s Team

The three-match ODI series is part of a multi-format tour against India, beginning with three T20Is and concluding with a day-night Test at the WACA in Perth.

Australia’s women’s international home season has been pushed to February and March in 2026, a scheduling adjustment made to accommodate the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in January and the ODI World Cup, which runs through October 2025.

This scheduling gap means Australia will go more than 12 months without hosting a women’s international match — a concern raised by captain Alyssa Healy earlier in the year.

“Not having an international fixture in that school holiday period does hurt a little bit,” Healy said.

“But in saying that, it kind of extends the cricket season, which isn’t completely a bad thing for our sport. At the back end of the Ashes [last year], I felt like that was really cool to have it at the end of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, so hopefully there's similar momentum this year.”

Updated Fixture:

  • 3rd ODI – March 1, 2026

  • New Venue: Bellerive Oval, Hobart

  • Original Venue: Junction Oval, Melbourne

Cricket Australia remains hopeful that Junction Oval will be ready to host international night fixtures in future seasons once the floodlight installation is completed.