Aussie Ashes hero urges cricket chiefs to make radical change to one of the sport's most iconic events... but here's why his team-mates don't agree

Usman Khawaja has urged cricket chiefs to consider moving the iconic Boxing Day and Sydney Tests from their traditional time slots to allow Australia’s top stars to compete in the Big Bash League (BBL).

Discussions over the scheduling for the Australian cricketing summer have raged for many years. Some have questioned whether the SCG and Gabba Tests should be switched to take advantage of more favourable weather conditions in New South Wales and Queensland. 

Other arguments have been made for the Big Bash to be played earlier in the calendar in October and November so as not to conflict with the summer Test series. That would also allow the limited-overs competition to attract greater talent from around the world.

It comes as Khawaja’s Brisbane Heat will commence their 2025-26 season on December 15, with the men’s season then continuing for the next two months before the BBL finals take place on January 25. 

That will mean the Big Bash will coincide with Australia’s Tests against England in Adelaide on December 17, the Boxing Day Test, which begins at the MCG on Christmas Day, and the Sydney Test, which starts on January 3. Interestingly, the Sydney Thunder will also host reigning men’s BBL champions Hobart Hurricanes at the ENGIE Stadium in Sydney’s west, on the same day as the New Year’s Test begins.

Khawaja, 38, admitted he loves both the Boxing Day Test and the SCG Tests, but controversially believes that in order for the game to grow and become a better product for all involved, cricket chiefs should consider revamping the red ball calendar.

‘At some level, at some stage, everything that grows must change,’ the Australian opener, who is expected to feature in this summer’s Ashes Series, told The Sydney Morning Herald.

‘As much as I love the Boxing Day and SCG Test match and I don’t want to move them, if it’s better for the growth of the game and allows Australian players to play in the Big Bash, I think it’s worth talking about and exploring. People don’t like change.

‘My view is always for the growth of the game. I do think the BBL needs to be privatised for the growth of the game, but I do believe certain boundaries need to be put around how we privatise it, who we’re privatising to, what control CA (Cricket Australia) has in terms of the product.

‘There are some things we need to maintain, but you also need to let the bird fly. We can’t just keep holding the reins forever, because it’s a product that ... look at sport in general, the NBA, Major League Baseball, these sports that have been growing through privatisation, I think the pros outweigh the cons, but there’s still a responsibility to the game. You can do both.’

The first-ever Boxing Day Test between England and Australia was played during the 1950-51 Ashes Series, with England going on to win the match by eight wickets.

Any notion to reschedule such an iconic event in the global sporting calendar would be a very controversial move, with one of Khawaja’s team-mates, Mitchell Starc, vehemently shooting down the proposal.

‘The Test cricket schedule is not to be touched,’ the Aussie pace bowler said on Thursday.

‘Test cricket is the pinnacle. I don’t think Test cricket should make way for T20 cricket at all, whether it’s the BBL or the IPL or anything.

‘The Test summer is the Test summer.

‘I would hate to see that change for domestic cricket.

‘That is not a snipe at anyone, that’s just my opinion of Test cricket and where it sits on my priority list.’

Cricket Australia boss Todd Greenberg has also affirmed that the Sydney and Melbourne Tests will not be moved from their time slots in the calendar.

Starc also explained that the Big Bash schedule could be shortened by playing games on consecutive days, adding that the format is not as physically demanding as red ball cricket. That could free up more time in the calendar.

‘I know they’ve shortened the (BBL) schedule already. I think that’s been a positive impact,’ Starc, who is set

‘I know there are whispers and murmurings around whether there [should be] more teams or whether the window changes. That’s for the people who are paid the big dollars at Cricket Australia to make those decisions, and we don’t have much say in it.

‘My only opinion on it is Test cricket stays where it is and as it is.’

It is also unlikely to happen any time soon, with Cricket Australia and the Victoria Government having struck a deal to host the match at the MCG until 2031. Alongside that, Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley finalised arrangements that will see the Adelaide and Sydney Tests remain in their traditional slots for the next seven years.

But in the years to come, cricket chiefs have been warned that they could be forced to consider moving the iconic fixture in the future due to health and safety concerns raised by the Australian Conservation Fund.

A report, published by Monash University, claims that climate change and extreme rises in temperatures at the peak of the Aussie summer could be dangerous for both players and spectators at the MCG. The report adds that Australian summers will only get hotter with more days expected to be over 35°C in December in the next 40-60 years.

Khawaja’s comments also come after it was revealed by The Sydney Morning Herald that both Pat Cummins and Travis Head were offered $10million each to step down from their international roles and play T20 franchise cricket full-time.

The approach was reportedly made earlier this year by an IPL team group.

Both players are understood to have snubbed the proposal.