King Charles on the invite list for Test cricket’s MCG celebration

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King Charles and Test cricket royalty from across the globe have been invited to the MCG to celebrate 150 years of Test cricket, along with the sport’s most revered trophy – the priceless Ashes urn.

More than 125,000 tickets have already sold for the first four days of the Test, the first to be held under lights at the MCG and played with a pink ball.

King Charles and Queen Camilla have been invited to Australia for the match to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Test cricket.

Wednesday marks one year until the first day of the Test, and Cricket Australia chief executive officer Todd Greenberg said he was “blown away” by the demand for tickets, which started selling through a ballot last month.

“It’s the first time we’ve ever put a ballot in place for tickets to a Test match here in this country. The outcome of that has just been an explosion of interest in the event,” Greenberg said.

“Effectively, we’ll have a full house across the first three days almost a year out from the event.”

After his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, attended the Centenary Test at the MCG in 1977, King Charles has been invited to the sesquicentenary celebration. So, too, have been a host of cricket luminaries, including every living player from the 1977 match, all living men and women to captain Australia and England and all available members of the International Cricket Council Hall of Fame.

150th Anniversary Test: Tickets already sold

Day one (Thursday, March 11): 39,564
Day two (Friday, March 12): 42,010
Day three (Saturday, March 13): 36,153

“It will arguably be the greatest alumni of cricketers in one place at one time,” Greenberg said. “We think it will be a great celebration of the format of Test cricket.”

The match has been touted as a major event for tourism in Victoria, with the ballot weighted to give cricket fans from overseas and interstate a chance to buy tickets. More than half (68,289) of the tickets already sold have been purchased outside Victoria.

Greenberg is pitching it as a carnival of cricket and entertainment beyond comparison, with events being planned alongside the Test, including corporate functions, music concerts, live sites and activations, sports conferences, and, potentially, the ICC’s annual board meeting.

“I think the week prior will be an enormous celebration of cricket in this country … I think there’s a great opportunity for cricket to be up in lights,” he said.

Almost 50 years on, the Centenary Test still stands as one of the most drama-filled and memorable games played at the MCG. More than 200 Test players from Australia and England were witness to starring performances by Australians Dennis Lillee, Rod Marsh and debutant David Hookes. But England’s Derek Randall was adjudged player of the match for making 174 in the fourth innings.

Not only did that innings ensure a close result – Australia won by 45 runs, coincidentally the exact margin they won the first Test by at the MCG in 1877 – it also helped the game stretch past the Queen’s scheduled visit at tea on day five.

“We’ve extended [an invitation] through all the appropriate channels, both government here and in the UK, for the King or a subset to be here. That’s certainly high on our list,” Greenberg said.

“We might bring his visit slightly earlier in the Test match, as opposed to the end of day five, given modern-day Test matches may not get that far … we’ll make sure a royal visit is there for opening ball on day one, for sure.”

Cricket Australia boss Todd Greenberg outside the MCG, where the 150th anniversary Test will be played a year from now.

Greenberg said two years of talks and planning had already been devoted the royal visit, but it was yet to be confirmed. Likewise, CA has been negotiating with the Marylebone Cricket Club to bring the original Ashes urn – first presented to the MCC in 1882 – to Australia for the match, even though it technically will not count as an Ashes contest.

Reports from the UK suggest the MCG match could be the last Test between Australia and England played at night for the foreseeable future because England do not enjoy the format.

But Greenberg says a night Test is still a live option for the 2029 Ashes series in Australia, noting the time zone is beneficial for UK broadcasters.

“I haven’t had a conversation with my counterparts in the ECB, we’ll be doing everything we can to work with them prior to 2029, so we’ve got a bit of time to solve that one,” he said.