King Charles Invited To 150th Anniversary Cricket Test In Melbourne

King Charles Invited To 150th Anniversary Cricket Test In Melbourne (Image Source: AFP)

King Charles and global cricket royalty have been invited to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first Test match in Melbourne, officials said Thursday, with ticket sales through the roof a year before a ball is bowled.

Australia will play England under lights at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to celebrate the landmark from March 11-15 next year.

It will commemorate the first ever Test, played between the two arch-rivals, at the same stadium in 1877.

All members of the Australia and England teams that played in the 1977 Centenary Test -- also at the MCG -- are set to attend.

The late Queen Elizabeth II was at that game and officials are hopeful King Charles will make the trip in 2027.

"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," Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg told the Sydney Morning Herald. "That's certainly high on our list,"

Cricket Australia confirmed to AFP that an invitation had been issued.

"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," added Greenberg.

"We'll make sure a royal visit is there for the opening ball on day one, for sure."

It will be the first time the MCG has hosted a men's day-night Test and more than 125,000 tickets have already been sold following a ballot, with most of the public allocation across days one-to-three gone.

"We knew there would be strong demand for tickets to the 150th anniversary Test but the response both locally and from overseas has been phenomenal," said Greenberg.

"We have some fantastic plans in place to ensure the Test and the accompanying entertainment and events will provide a fitting celebration of a very significant milestone.

"Most importantly, we will honour the great players who have made Test cricket such wonderful and enduring sporting theatre, and we can't wait to welcome the cricket world to Melbourne."

Also invited are all living male and female International Cricket Council Hall of Fame inductees, former Test captains and a who's who of ex-Australia and England Test players.

Officials are also hopeful that the priceless Ashes urn -- which is kept at the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's in London -- will make the trip.