Australian squad to face a New South Wales XI ahead of VB Series

Australian Cricket Board (ACB) Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland announced today that Australia's squad for the VB Series of one-day internationals will play a practice match against a New South Wales (NSW) XI next Tuesday (10 December) at North Sydney Oval.

The 40-over-per-side match is being staged at the request of Australian coach John Buchanan to give the side limited-overs match practice after six-consecutive Tests against Pakistan and England.

Mr Sutherland said that with the co-operation of Cricket NSW and the North Sydney Council, the request had been met.

"In preparing the players for this summer's VB Series, team management has requested the squad play a practice match before its first clash with England at the SCG on 13 December," Mr Sutherland said.

"The rationale behind the match is to help the players who have been playing Test cricket, concentrate their efforts on the shorter form of the game and fine tune their limited-overs preparation," he said.

The match will commence at 1100, with the lunch break scheduled for 1415.

Gates open at North Sydney Oval at 1000, with patrons able to enter the ground via a gold coin donation to the Northcott Society, a Cricket NSW aligned charity.

Both sides will be announced in due course.