ODIs cut back for Ashes summer

England's Ashes tour of Australia next season will be followed by only five ODIs © PA Photos

Australia will play the fewest home ODIs in 34 years during the 2013-14 Ashes summer, as Twenty20 takes a more prominent place in the schedule ahead of the tiring 50-over format.

The schedule unveiled by Cricket Australia on Thursday offered the slimmest program of one-day matches since Mike Brearley's England tourists played four ODIs alongside six Tests in 1978-79, the second summer of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket rebellion and the last before commercial television began to dictate a surfeit of limited overs fixtures.

Five Ashes Tests will be followed by five ODIs and three Twenty20 internationals, the most substantial T20I series played in Australia since the format's introduction. Previously Australia have played either one-off matches or two-match series, but the raging popularity of international T20s has forced the addition of an extra match.

England's presence as the sole touring side, the first time since India visited in 1977-78 that only one side has toured Australia in a summer, will also reduce the number of scheduled days of international cricket to 33, significantly down from this summer's 43 days. This will allow more room for the domestic T20 Big Bash League to thrive, with the possible benefit of Australia's players being available for a greater number of matches.

The England tour will begin with a trio of warm-up fixtures against Western Australia, Australia A and New South Wales. The first Test will take place in Brisbane from November 21 to 25, before the series moves on to Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.

October 31-November 2 Western Australia XI v England, WACA
November 6-9 Australia A v England, Bellerive Oval, Hobart
November 13-16 New South Wales XI v England, SCG

November 21-25 Australia v England, 1st Test, Gabba

November 29-30 CA Chairman's XI v England, Manuka Oval, Canberra

December 5-9 Australia v England, 2nd Test, Adelaide Oval
December 13-17 Australia v England, 3rd Test, WACA
December 26-30 Australia v England, 4th Test, MCG
January 3-7 Australia v England, 5th Test, SCG

More to come

Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here

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