Britain’s King Charles and global cricket royalty have been invited to a special match-related event in Melbourne next year to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Test, officials have said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tickets have also been put on sale a year in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To mark the milestone, Australia will play England under floodlights at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from March 11-15 next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will be held at the same ground to commemorate the first Test match between the two arch-rivals in 1877.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All members of the Australian and English teams that played in the 1977 Centenary Test are expected to attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Queen Elizabeth II attended the match, and officials hope that King Charles will visit in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australian Premier Todd Greenberg says an invitation has been extended through all appropriate channels, including the Australian and UK governments, for the monarch or a representative to visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cricket Australia confirmed that an invitation had been issued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can be assured that there will be royal representation for the opening ball on day one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will be the first time a men\u2019s day-night Test match has been played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 125,000 tickets have already been sold, with most public bookings for days one to three already sold out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have some fantastic plans to ensure a fitting celebration of the Test and the entertainment and events that come with it. Most importantly, we pay tribute to the great players who have made Test cricket such a wonderful and enduring sport, and we look forward to welcoming the cricketing world to Melbourne,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All living male and female members of the International Cricket Council\u2019s Hall of Fame, former Test captains and former Test players from Australia and England have also been invited.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Britain’s King Charles and global cricket royalty have been invited to a special match-related event in Melbourne next year to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Test, officials have said. Tickets have also been put on sale a year in advance. To mark the milestone, Australia will play England under floodlights at the Melbourne…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,60],"tags":[2802,2801,2803,73,134],"class_list":["post-11262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket","category-international-cricket","tag-150th-anniversary-of-the-first-test","tag-king-charles","tag-queen-elizabeth-ii","tag-slsports","tag-sports-news"],"yoast_head":"\n