Victoria take Shield matches to NT

The Victorian cricket team will take Sheffield Shield home games to Alice Springs and Adelaide next year due to scheduling conflicts with the World Cup.

Victoria will play two matches at Traeger Park in Alice Springs – against Queensland starting February 25 and their last regular season match against Tasmania from March 13 – and will host South Australia at Gliderol Stadium in the Adelaide suburb of Glenelg from March 5.

The Bushrangers will be unable to play at the MCG during the World Cup, which will be staged in Australia and New Zealand from February 14 to March 29.

Cricket Victoria said there was no replacement venue capable of hosting first-class cricket in the state and had been forced to shift the fixtures interstate.

“Obviously it isn’t ideal having to play home games interstate but we are looking forward to playing in Alice Springs,” Cricket Victoria general manager of cricket Shaun Graf said.

The games will mark the first time Alice Springs has hosted Sheffield Shield games.

Cricket Victoria said the transfer of the MCG home matches outside of the state highlighted the need for an alternative first-class venue in Victoria.

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