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Captain Steve Smith will play a big part in Australia’s bid to become the No.1 Test nation.

By DEMITRIOS PANOPOULOS

The Australian cricket calendar is stacked over the coming months and if you’re a fan of the sport, the next five months will be extremely enjoyable.

Domestically, it will be the most intriguing and entertaining period we have seen for a long time, while a couple of key international injuries should make for tight contests right throughout the entire summer.

What can we expect? Below are the four key items to look forward to in the Australian summer.

1) Matador Cup to be taken seriously

October marks the start of the Matador Cup, Australia’s domestic one-day competition. This year’s edition appears to be the most important for the future of Australian cricket. With a couple of state squads ransacked by Australia’s one-day squad for matches against South Africa, now is the time where cricket fans get to see new faces and a glimpse towards the future.  

South Australia has announced a fairly inexperienced squad full of young potential. Jake Lehmann and Wes Agar are two in particular to watch carefully throughout the series. Tasmania is seemingly the home of second-chance players, with no less than four former Queensland representatives, and the Cricket Australia XI is full of young talent who will likely break into their senior state teams in the future.

It’s an exciting time for Australian cricket, and with free-to-air exposure now a given for the competition and domestic form finally being rewarded on an international stage.

2) A new No.1 Test nation

Fears of a lopsided series against Pakistan are no longer warranted, with Pakistan putting together some strong performances in 2016 to see them acclaimed as the No.1 ranked Test nation.

It should result in a good series against the Australians, which starts on December 15 in Brisbane. Travelling away from enormously kind conditions for spin bowling may hurt the Pakistan team, which has relied on their spinners to outclass opponents.

South Africa will also tour Australia for a Test series and a win against both nations may see Australia successfully regain top spot on the Test rankings. It gives fans even more to look forward to in an already heavy international schedule.

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 Sydney Thunder will look to go back-to-back in BBL|06. 

3) BBL to dominate again

The Big Bash League was a hit once again, with the KFC BBL|05 taking the world by storm. What cricket fans can expect is BBL|06 to prove that Australia has the best T20 competition in the world.

Already we have seen the English make certain changes to their T20 leagues, to slowly try and replicate the BBL. The Indian Premier League has long been the standard-bearer, if not only for the amount of money involved in the competition.

From a spectacle and quality perspective, BBL|06 is expected to be the best T20 season we have ever seen.

Already English internationals Ian Bell and Stuart Broad have committed to playing for Perth Scorchers and Hobart Hurricanes respectively. The two high profile cricketers will have a lot to offer particularly Broad, who is still in his prime.

This is on top of the likes of the returning West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard, Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Former-England international Kevin Pietersen among others. Retired Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson will also be making his BBL debut for the Scorchers in December.

The names will only continue to get bigger and better over the coming weeks and seasons with further signings expected.

4) International debuts

Australia’s surprise selection of the fast-bowling trio of Chris Tremain, Joe Mennie and Daniel Worrall for the South African one-day series beginning Friday, will give those unfamiliar with the domestic competition a look at some new players.

Tremain’s recent strong form for Australia A over the winter may see him selected in the starting XI for game one. 

It won’t end here for the Australians. With a stacked set of fixtures for the summer, the likes of Peter Handscomb, Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Behrendorff and Nic Maddinson could all feature heavily in different forms of the game in the green and gold.

Some of these players already have had international experience, however playing in front of home crowds and featuring on prime-time Australian television will make a big difference. Players such as these will give fans a taste of what to expect in the future.