The first month of the New Year 2012 looks to be filled up mostly with Test Cricket. As many as four Test Series will be held this month in as many countries.
Here's a brief on the Match Schedule in the Month of January :
1. India's Tour of Australia : After the Boxing Day Test Match at the MCG, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will have three more matches which will be played in the month of January. The Second Test will begin on the 3rd, that is tomorrow at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The third Test will be played at the WACA in Perth on the 13th and the fourth and final Test will be at the Adelaide Oval on the 24th.
Australia are leading this 4-Test Series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-0 after beating India by 122 runs at Melbourne in the First Test.
Schedule of Australia Vs India in January 2012 :
- Jan 3-7 : Australia Vs India, 2nd Test at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (Match Timings : 23:30 GMT (prev day)/10:30 local/05:00 IST)
- Jan 13-17 : Australia Vs India, 3rd Test at Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth (Match Timings : 02:30 GMT/10:30 local/08:00 IST)
- Jan 24-28 : Australia Vs India, 4th Test at Adelaide Oval (Match Timings : 00:00 GMT/10:30 local/05:30 IST)
2. Sri Lanka's Tour of South Africa : The 3-Test Series against these teams is excitingly poised at 1-1 thanks to Sri Lanka's superb 208-run win in the Boxing Day Test at Durban. The third and final Test will decide the fate of the Series and will begin tomorrow at Newlands in Cape Town.
Following the third Test, the two teams will put on colour clothing as they clash in a 5-ODI Series which begins on the 11th.
Schedule of South Africa Vs Sri Lanka in January 2012 :
- Jan 3-7 : South Africa Vs Sri Lanka, 3rd Test at Newlands, Cape Town (Match Timings : 08:30 GMT/10:30 local/14:00 IST)
- Jan 11 (D/N) : South Africa Vs Sri Lanka, 1st ODI at Boland Park, Paarl (Match Timings : 12:30 GMT/14:30 local/18:00 IST)
- Jan 14 : South Africa Vs Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (Match Timings : 08:00 GMT/10:00 local/13:30 IST)
- Jan 17 (D/N) : South Africa Vs Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI at Chevrolet Park, Bloemfontein (Match Timings : 12:30 GMT/14:30 local/18:00 IST)
- Jan 20 (D/N) : South Africa Vs Sri Lanka, 4th ODI at De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley (Match Timings : 12:30 GMT/14:30 local/18:00 IST)
- Jan 22 : South Africa Vs Sri Lanka, 5th ODI at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (Match Timings : 08:00 GMT/10:00 local/13:30 IST)
3. Pakistan Vs England in UAE : Pakistan and England will play a 3-Test Series in the desert country United Arab Emirates. The Series kicks off at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium where the first Test Match will be played. This series will be a challenging test for both the teams. Pakistan after playing against Bangladesh in the recent past could find the World No.1 Test Team England a lot tough. England on the other hand could struggle because of the hot weather conditions in the middle-east.
Schedule of Pakistan Vs England in January 2012 :
- Jan 17-21 : Pakistan Vs England, 1st Test at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai (Match Timings : 06:00 GMT/10:00 local/11:30 IST)
- Jan 25-29 : Pakistan Vs England, 2nd Test at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi (Match Timings : 06:00 GMT/10:00 local/11:30 IST)
4. Zimbabwe Tour of New Zealand : Zimbabwe in their Test comeback this season will meet New Zealand in a one-off Test Match at Napier at the fag end of this match. The African nation is doing all it can to create an impression in this format of the game. The last time these two teams met in a Test Match which was in the month of November 2011, New Zealand just managed to defeat Zimbabwe by just 34 runs!
Schedule of New Zealand Vs Zimbabwe in January 2012 :
- Jan 26-30 : New Zealand Vs Zimbabwe, Only Test at McLean Park, Napier
