• Click on the owl to see the 2014-15 cricket fixture  

Cricket Australia has finalised dates for a marathon 2014/15 home international season which will last almost five months.

The schedule has been skewed by the 2015 World Cup, which Australia will co-host alongside New Zealand with the final to be played at the MCG on March 29.

It will not so much be a summer of cricket, but a spring, summer and autumn as Australia host South Africa, India and England prior to the World Cup starting on February 14.

It begins with the Proteas playing a Twenty20 tour game on November 2 at North Sydney Oval, as they tune up for three T20s and five one-day internationals (ODIs) against Australia.

When South Africa depart, India will be starting the first of their two tour matches (November 24-25 and 28-29) in Adelaide to prepare for a four-Test series.

Brisbane (4-8 December) and Adelaide (12-16 December) host the first two Tests before the traditional fixtures at the MCG and SCG.

The coloured clothes then return for an ODI tri series featuring India and England – the highlight of which will be an Australia Day match against India at the SCG.

The WACA missed out on a Test this season, but will host the final of the tri series on February 1 in addition to two ODIs against South Africa on November 14 and 16.

Australia’s world champion women’s team will tackle Pakistan and West Indies, playing four T20s and four one-dayers against each of the touring sides.

The Sheffield Shield season will be cut into two halves to accommodate the T20 Big Bash League, which will run in school holidays from December 18 to January 28.

The domestic one-day competition will continue in a tournament format, with the games played in Brisbane and Sydney (October 4-26).