It has been 17 years, but now international cricket is coming back to Darwin's Marrara Cricket Ground.  The last international match at this site was between Australia and Bangladesh in September 2008. In August 2025, Australia and South Africa will play two T20 matches there.

After its last international match, Marrara Stadium seemed to disappear from the cricketing map of Australia.  Australia has been the site of 536 international games in 27 different places since 2008, but Darwin was not on the list.  Cricket Australia (CA) had been working to fix up the ground since 2023 so that the Northern Territory could host top-level cricket games again.

Gavin Dovey, CEO of Cricket Australia's Northern Territory division, said that the long-term goal would be met.  "I've been clear from the moment I arrived in 2023 that we're driven to bring international cricket back to the Northern Territory. The last time we hosted international cricket was 2008 and that's simply far too long,” NT Cricket CEO Gavin Dovey told AAP.

"The game has changed a hell of a lot since then. Just look at the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy or its return to the Olympics in LA 2028 for an example of its power and scale."

The last international game played at Marrara Cricket Ground was an ODI between Australia and Bangladesh on September 6, 2008, with few runs scored.  Australia batted first and got 198/5 in 50 overs. Abdur Razzak and Shakib Al Hasan bowled very cheaply and slowed down the score rate.  Bangladesh's response fell short at 125 runs in 29.5 overs, even though Tamim Iqbal scored 63 runs off of 69 balls and Shakib added 27 runs.  Bangladesh had a higher run rate than Australia, but they lost by 73 runs because they kept losing wickets at key times.

With the return of international games, Marrara Cricket Ground will once again play a big role in Australian cricket.  During August 2025, Australia and South Africa played a two-match T20 series. This could be the start of more events in the Northern Territory.  After a long break, cricket fans in Darwin can now look forward to world-class play.