New Zealand’s Test summer is about to get a lot longer — and a lot tougher. After hosting India in two Tests in November and December, the Black Caps head across the Tasman for a four-Test series in Australia from December 9, 2026, to January 8, 2027, the first four-Test series between the two sides and New Zealand’s first Test tour of Australia since 2019-20.
It is also, remarkably, the first time New Zealand have played more than three Tests in a single series since 1999. All four matches are packed into just 31 days, with the longest gap between Tests only four days, which will test the fast bowlers on both sides more than any single result. Australia, whose ageing Test attack has already endured a gruelling home series against South Africa, will be asked to back up again almost immediately. New Zealand, coming straight off a home series against India, will have barely a week between their final Test in Christchurch on December 1 and the first ball in Perth.
Here is the full schedule, with all four matches played as day Tests — there is no pink-ball match in the series, and, notably, no Test at Brisbane’s Gabba:
1st Test: December 9-13, Perth Stadium, Perth, starting 10:20 AM local time (7:50 AM IST). Perth’s pace and bounce make the new ball the key period of the match, and the West Test traditionally rewards the side that bowls first with discipline.
2nd Test: December 17-21, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, starting 11:00 AM local time (6:00 AM IST). Adelaide has staged day-night Tests in recent years, but this one is a day match on a surface that is usually good for batting early before offering more to the bowlers as it wears.
3rd Test: December 26-30, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, starting 10:30 AM local time (5:00 AM IST). The Boxing Day Test is the biggest Test crowd of the Australian summer, on a drop-in pitch that often offers early seam movement before flattening out.
4th Test: January 4-8, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, starting 10:30 AM local time (5:00 AM IST). The New Year Test is the one ground in Australia where spin has a regular role, especially from day three onwards, and it has decided many a series in the final session.
The series also carries serious World Test Championship weight. New Zealand currently lead the 2025-27 standings on 72.22 per cent, while Australia, after losing their home series to South Africa 2-1, have slipped to third on 69.23. A series win for either side in December and January could easily decide who ends the year on top of the table, with the final at Lord’s in June 2027 still the prize. Squads have not been announced yet, and both teams’ selections — particularly Australia’s pace-bowling rotation across four Tests in 31 days, and New Zealand’s ability to back up after the India series — will shape the contest as much as the venues.
For Indian fans, the timing is friendly: every Test starts in the early morning in India, between 5:00 AM and 7:50 AM IST, so the first session is breakfast viewing. This guide will be updated on the same URL when the squads are announced, rather than in a second article.
Read our India tour of New Zealand schedule guide here: https://t20star.com/india-tour-new-zealand-2026-full-schedule-venues/
Read our WTC points system explainer here: https://t20star.com/world-test-championship-format-points-explained/
