England are poised to play the Prime Minister's XI in a warm-up game ahead of the highly anticipated 150th anniversary Test match against arch-rivals Australia. The one-off game is set to take place on March 11, 2027, at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
According to Cricinfo, England requested a warm-up game from Cricket Australia ahead of the showpiece game. As a result, the Three Lions will play the Prime Minister's XI at Junction Oval, which has recently installed floodlights, which will be
used for the first time during the upcoming Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) later this year. The three-day warm-up match will be played from March 4 to 6, 2027.
The announcement of the warm-up match comes after England received a tonne of backlash for a lack of preparations ahead of the 2025-26 Ashes series, which they lost 4-1. Instead, they played an intra-squad game at Lilac Hills after declining matches at Adelaide and Melbourne. Going forward, both Australia and England will get a suitable number of warm-up matches ahead of the Ashes, starting from the 2027 series on English soil.
"The Prime Minister's XI match has a proud place in Australian cricket history and it's fitting the XI will take on the best England can throw at us ahead of the one-off Test. The 150th Anniversary Test will be a special occasion for cricket fans across Australia and around the world, and I look forward to helping select a Prime Minister's XI that will provide a terrific contest in the lead-up to that historic match," Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, via Cricinfo.
It is worth noting that England had the opportunity to play against the Prime Minister's XI during the previous Ashes. The Three Lions instead fielded an 'A' side with some senior players like Jacob Bethell, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts, who all featured in the five-match series. The game took place after the first Test and before the day-night match in Brisbane.
The trip Down Under for the 150th anniversary will be England's second in four months, as they are already scheduled to travel for a white-ball tour comprising three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and five T20I games in November 2026.
England, however, will have to play the one-off Test without former captain Ben Stokes, who recently retired from international cricket.
