Another year, another landmark occasion for Australian women's cricket at North Sydney Oval.
The international summer starts on Saturday night with a Twenty20 against New Zealand at the venue, a spiritual home and stronghold for Meg Lanning's team.
The game will be broadcast on Channel Seven's main channel - a break from tradition expected to result in record ratings - after the AFL grand final.
A bumper crowd flocked to the boutique ground for last year's Ashes Test, during which Ellyse Perry's astonishing unbeaten knock of 213 put her team on front and back pages around the country.
"It's a really special ground for all of us to come back to," Perry told reporters on Tuesday.
"It's a great place to watch cricket. It's beautiful, it's historic and I think we really want to own this ground.
"We've got the Boxing Day Test match at the MCG, the New Year's Test at the SCG and I'd love to think that North Sydney Oval is the Australian women's cricket ground.
"Every year, if we play here, it's going to be a special event and something people love to come down to."
Australia are yet to be defeated in a T20 at North Sydney while the most recent of their two ODI losses at the venue was almost 10 years ago.
Ashleigh Gardner, who suffered a concussion a fortnight ago, is expected to be passed fit this week.
The three-match trans-Tasman series, which also features games in Brisbane and Canberra, will serve as an ideal tune-up for November's World T20 in the West Indies.
Perry, who starred with bat and ball in a player-of-the-match performance for NSW on Sunday, is desperate to take her game to another level this summer.
"You want to play better each year and that's what keeps you motivated," the star allrounder said.
"The T20 game in women's cricket over the last 12 months has just exploded ... everyone has had to evolve a lot."
Australian female player payments rocketed from $7.5 million to $55.2 million in last year's pay deal.
Perry suggested one of many knock-on effects has been "amazing depth".
"It's given players an opportunity to start training younger. Train more, play more games ... conditions have got so much better," she said.
"This year is probably the greatest opportunity we've ever had to showcase our team to the Australian public and we really want to do a good job of it."
AUSTRALIAN WOMEN"S CRICKET SIDE AT NORTH SYDNEY OVAL
* Test: 1 win, 3 draws, 0 losses * ODI: 8 wins, 2 losses * T20: 5 wins, 0 losses
Share
