England's oldest surviving cricketers invited as VIP guests to 150th anniversary Test in Australia

Some of England's oldest living cricketers are to be invited as special guests of Cricket Australia for the 150th anniversary Test match extravaganza.

England return down under for a one-off, floodlit fixture versus Australia in Melbourne - expected to draw daily crowds of 100,000 - from March 11-15, 2027.

CA held its latest planning meeting for what is expected to be 'an unforgettably huge event' on Tuesday and although details of how many English cricketers will be flown over is yet to be finalised, the VIP list will definitely include all surviving members of the 1977 centenary Test.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground played host to the inaugural Test match in March 1877 - five years before the start of the Ashes - with Australia winning by 45 runs.

The Australians also won the 100th anniversary match in 1977, again at the MCG, by exactly the same 45-run margin.

England's XI for that match included Mike Brearley, now 83, Dennis Amiss, 82, Keith Fletcher, 81, plus 70-somethings Alan Knott, Derek Randall, Chris Old and John Lever - all of whom will be asked to make the 10,500-mile journey back in 16 months' time.

Four have since passed away, so invites will instead be sent to relatives of Bob Willis, Bob Woolmer, Derek Underwood and Tony Greig.

More ex-England stars will be on the plane too, although the qualification criteria is yet to be determined.

The classy gesture by the Australians is in keeping with the 1977 fixture when the England team arrived with a large entourage of past players.

Back then, all England players to have featured in four or more Ashes Tests on Australian soil boarded the flight to take part in the week-long, off-field celebrations.