One-Day Cup 2025-26: All you need to know

When does it start?

Tuesday, September 16! NSW and Tasmania will launch the men’s domestic summer at Cricket Central in Sydney. The Blues are fresh off a 3-0 sweep of Victoria in three one-day pre-season matches at the same venue last week and will be seeking their first points of the new campaign against a strong Tasmania side likely to feature Australian allrounders Beau Webster and Mitch Owen.

Queensland and Victoria kick off their season the following day at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field, which will also host the Vics and Tasmania on Friday. Reigning champions South Australia and Western Australia play their first matches against NSW and Queensland respectively over the weekend before the two states conclude the first block of six matches at Karen Rolton Oval on Wednesday, September 24.

The third and fourth rounds will then take place on October 9 and 20 respectively following each of the opening two rounds of the Sheffield Shield season.

What’s the schedule?

Each team will play seven matches across the One-Day Cup season with the two top-ranked teams qualifying for the final on February 28, which will be hosted by the team that finishes on top of the table after the regular season.

Teams will play five matches prior to the KFC BBL|15 break and two after, with each state will host at least three home One-Day Cup matches across the summer.

You can find the full schedule along with broadcast details for each match here.

What the coaches said:

Cricket.com.au chatted to each of the six head coaches to get the latest intel from the pre-season and their hopes for the summer ahead. Make sure you check out each of the full preview for each team on the website or CA Live app over the coming days.

Greg Shipperd (NSW): “(Our goal) again is to just be super competitive and in the race in the last rounds for an opportunity to qualify for finals. We were in that position in both formats last year. It’s going to be quite a quizzical start to the season in the sense that a lot of players are removed from the group with all these clashing fixtures (with) Australia and Australia A playing. We won’t be solo in that boat, so it’s how we adapt to and approach that. For our players that haven’t played a lot of cricket, it’s an early-season opportunity for them to put a stamp on the competition.”

Johan Botha (Queensland): “It’s wide open, there’s so many good teams. You just look at the first two rounds of games, there’s going to be some very good players playing in those games so you’re going to have to win, I think, high-scoring matches, especially at AB Field where we play our first three one-day games. We shouldn’t be scared of chasing 330, 340 or 350 and our batting unit will have to wait and see if we’re good enough to chase that, or set that to even be in the game.”

Ryan Harris (South Australia): “One of my themes … is we’re not the hunted. We’re still making sure that we’re hunting out there and trying to get as much success as we can and play the best cricket we can. They just know how good the feeling of winning is now, so they’re so determined to try and keep it up.”

Jeff Vaughan (Tasmania): “We feel as though we’ve evolved for the better from last season in our Tigers program, largely from a couple of small additions … and we’ve got some great depth with our bowlers now. The health of our bowling group at the moment, that certainly creates some capability for us to manage the season far greater than we were able to last year.”

Chris Rogers (Victoria): “We’re probably missing about four or five (first-choice players). But that’s OK, it’s another good health check of your squad – are we developing cricketers who can step up and perform, even though they’re not always your first selected players. It’s recognition that the squad is doing good things, as I’m sure the likes of WA or NSW have had when they’ve had lots of players playing for Australia.”

Adam Voges (Western Australia): “Our (last) One-Day Cup campaign we lost our first two games by eight runs and two runs – unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of those results and never really got going in that competition. So the guys are hungry, they’ve come back in really good nick, and they’ll be keen to have some better results, particularly to start the summer.”

How can I watch?

Every game will be streamed live and available worldwide on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app, and also available in Australia on Kayo Sports. This summer three matches will also be broadcast on Fox Cricket, including the final.

Fox Cricket broadcast matches

– October 9: Western Australia v NSW, 2pm AWST

– October 20: South Australia v Queensland, 11am ACDT

– November 3: NSW v Queensland, 10am AEDT

Can I attend?

Absolutely! There is free entry for matches at NSW’s Cricket Central (bring your folding chair or picnic rug), Queensland and Tasmania home games, as well as for South Australia’s matches at Karen Rolton Oval.

At the Junction Oval, tickets are available for purchase at Gate 2 on Lakeside Drive, and for matches at the MCG get them from Gate 2 on match day. It’s free entry for MCC, Renegades and Stars members upon presentation of a membership card at either venue.

For South Australia’s Adelaide Oval games, tickets cost $10 for adults (free for under-18s and SACA members) and can be purchased on the day at the venue. Western Australia home games at the WACA Ground will set you back $15 for an adult ticket, $10 for concession, with free entry juniors.

What are they playing for?

Introduced last season following a public vote, the winners of men’s domestic one-day tournament are now awarded the Dean Jones Trophy.

South Australian skipper Nathan McSweeney was the first to lift the perpetual trophy last March. Cricket Australia asked the public for their input during the first half of the season, and former international and state star Jones was the most popular selection.

SA captain Nathan McSweeney lifts the Dean Jones Trophy for the first time // Getty

But who was Dean Jones? Well, the Unplayable Podcast went into depth on the man behind the trophy in an episode last summer, which you can listen to below.

Jones played 52 Tests (averaging 46.55 with the bat) and 164 ODIs (average of 44.61) and is considered by many as one of Australia’s first great one-day players due to his dynamic batting, powerful running between wickets and X-factor ability to break a game open with a few cracks of his blade. He scored 2,122 One-Day Cup runs for Victoria at an average of 50.52 with a top score of 139 not out. Jones also captained the Vics to the 1994-95 one-day title.

How else can I follow?

If you’re not able to attend or watch live, or you just want to relive all the action, you can get all the live scores, news, interviews and highlights on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.

You can also catch a replay of every wicket in the match centre on the CA Live app, which can be downloaded here.

How does the points system work?

Teams get four points for a win, two points for either a tie, no result or abandoned match and zero points for a loss.

Any team that achieves victory with a run rate 1.25 times that of the opposition will also receive one bonus point. For the team batting second to gain a bonus point, the victory must be achieved by the end of the 40th over or 80 per cent of the number of overs in a reduced overs match, rounded up to the next delivery as required.

The teams that finish first and second on the points table at the completion of all preliminary matches will qualify for the final on February 28. The team with the higher net run-rate will determine ladder positions if teams finish level on points.

One-Day Cup 2025-26 standings

Team

Matches played

M

Wins

W

Losses

L

Ties

T

No results

N/R

Net Run Rate

NRR

Deductions

Ded.

Batting Bonus

Bat

Total points

PTS

1

NSW Men
NSW

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

2

Queensland Bulls
QLD

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

3

South Australia Men
SA

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

4

Tasmanian Tigers Men
TAS

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

5

Victoria Men
VIC

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

6

Western Australia Men
WA

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

PTS: Total points