<p>Australia are heading back to the Top End. And this time, it is not for a white-ball tune-up.</p>

<p>For the first time since 2004, Darwin will host a Test match as the Australia vs Bangladesh Test series opens at Marrara Stadium from August 13 to 17. Mackay then takes centre stage from August 22 to 26, earning its maiden five-day fixture at Great Barrier Reef Arena.</p>

<h2>Darwin&rsquo;s Long-Awaited Return</h2>

<p>Darwin has staged just two Tests in its history. The last one came against Sri Lanka more than two decades ago. Since then, red-ball cricket stayed away. Now it is back, and it carries weight.</p>

<p>This series forms part of the ongoing <a href="https://www.tapmad.com/blog/icc-world-test-championship-2025-2027-state-of-play/2199-2-0">World Test Championship</a> schedule, and every session will matter. Australia are entering a demanding stretch with at least 20 Tests lined up between August 2024 and July 2025. Suddenly, the points table looks very different.</p>

<p>To be fair, the calendar is crowded. Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg admitted as much, pointing to the need for flexible windows outside the traditional summer.</p>

<h2>Mackay&rsquo;s Big Moment</h2>

<p>Mackay has never hosted a Test but that changes in August. Queensland gets its only Test of the season there, with the Gabba absent from the main summer program amid uncertainty over its long-term future before the 2032 Olympics.</p>

<p>The last Test meeting between these sides was in 2017. Before that, Bangladesh toured Australia in 2003. A planned 2020 series in Dhaka vanished due to the pandemic. Now that resumes under the spotlight of the World Test Championship schedule.</p>

<p>After the Australia vs Bangladesh series, Australia head to South Africa for three Tests, with a white-ball leg that includes ODIs in Zimbabwe. Then follows England touring Australia for limited-overs matches before a Test series against New Zealand.</p>

<p>Australia then travel to India for a five-Test series in January and February. England return in March for the 150th anniversary Test at the MCG. The next away Ashes is set for June and July 2027, potentially preceded by a World Test Championship final.&nbsp;</p>

Darwin and Mackay land historic Tests as Australia host Bangladesh in a crucial World Test Championship showdown this August.

Australia vs Bangladesh Tests Confirmed for August 2026

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Australian Open 2026

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