CA-BCCI dispute shunts New Zealand's tour to late March

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Trent Boult of New Zealand celebrates the wicket of David Warner Getty Images

Australia will play New Zealand in the second half of March - their latest series of home internationals outside a World Cup in more than 40 years - as a result of the dispute with the BCCI that has forced an ODI tour of India in the middle of January.

That aside, ESPNcricinfo can also reveal that a day/night Perth Test in mid-December may be the start of a tradition for Western Australia's Test match, as Perth Stadium and Cricket Australia look for more consistent programming to attract bigger crowds to the long form of the game outside of the popular Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney matches.

Not since a two-Test series against Pakistan in late March 1979 - the last matches to be played in Australia during the two-year World Series Cricket split wrought by Kerry Packer - have Australia hosted bilateral matches so late. It underlines the extent that the Board and its host broadcaster Fox Sports have been stretched by the BCCI's insistence that it host the Australians for an ODI series in mid-January.

That stipulation causes a knock-on effect whereby India then travel to New Zealand for a series, while the Australians are occupied by visits to Bangladesh and South Africa before returning home in mid-March for the three ODIs against the Black Caps. At the same time, Australia will host the women's Twenty20 World Cup in February and early March.

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CA and the BCCI remain fundamentally at odds over whether dates were ever agreed for the series, with arguments dating back to ICC-facilitated workshops to iron out the FTP for the 2019 to 2023 cycle. Two major meetings in late 2017 and then February this year failed to bring a uniformity of views, but seemingly the BCCI has ultimately held sway. CA's chief executive Kevin Roberts and chairman Earl Eddings are expected to visit India for talks with their opposite numbers around the IPL final on May 11.

Given the dominance of the AFL on most major grounds in Australia after February, plenty of last-minute negotiations loom to ensure suitable venues for the series. While the 2015 World Cup was played deep into the last week of March, this was done with plenty of advance warning and planning before Australia thrashed New Zealand in the tournament final at the MCG. Similar arrangements were made for 1992 World Cup, won by Pakistan.

There will be two day/night Tests during the summer, with Pakistan ultimately acceding to CA's request for a floodlit match at Adelaide Oval to conclude their two-match series, which will begin with the return of the Gabba as the first Test of summer after missing out in 2018-19.

More intriguing will be the scheduling of the first Test of the New Zealand series as a day/night affair at Perth Stadium, given the vast time difference with Australia's major eastern states markets. Perth Stadium's management, helmed by the former CA commercial and marketing chief Mike McKenna, are eager for a more reliable time slot in the calendar, the better to attract fans to the ground not only from WA but the rest of the country.

Through Boxing Day and New Year, the Melbourne and Sydney Tests attract a major recurring following irrespective of the touring opponent each summer. Adelaide has also managed to have a similar pull for spectators given the attractiveness of the venue and its sheer convenience just a short walk from the heart of hospitality districts in the South Australian capital.

The domestic season will feature a significant change as the domestic limited-overs tournament is played in brackets interspersed with the first half of the Sheffield Shield competition to build adaptability and relevant performances in the 50-over format after six years of its use as a pre-season carnival of sorts.

Australia's first international assignment of the season will be a Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka starting in early November. CA will reveal the schedule for the Chappell-Hadlee Series on Tuesday.