England will have to cope with high temperatures and extreme humidity when they visit Northern Territory between the First and Second Tests in Australia next winter.
The tourists were scheduled to play a Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI at Manuka Oval in Canberra on November 29-30. But the ground is being resurfaced at that time in an attempt to get up to standard for the 2015 World Cup, meaning the two-day tour match has been moved to Traeger Park in Alice Springs.
Average temperatures in Alice Springs at that time of year hover around 35 degrees.
Cricket Australia’s Andrew Ingleton defended the decision to take Alastair Cook and his team to one of the hottest parts of the country.
“When we were told that Canberra could not host the Chairman’s XI fixture, we wanted to bring the match to an iconic part of Australia,” he said. “Alice Springs, set against the backdrop of the MacDonnell Ranges, is an iconic part of our great country and an ideal setting for the game.”
