The 2017 County Championship will "feature a full round of day-night matches for the first time." England players are "expected to be made available for the nine floodlit games," starting on June 26. The nine day-night Championship games, using pink balls, "will give England players the chance to prepare for the first day-night Test" in the country, against West Indies at Edgbaston, beginning on Aug. 17. The England & Wales Cricket Board CEO Tom Harrison said, "It was important for us to arrange a full round of fixtures to give our England players the chance to experience the conditions" (BBC, 11/25).
The World Match Racing Tour announced that it will return to Perth, Australia. The first event of the '17 WMRT season will be the WMRT Match Cup Australia in Perth, from March 20-25. The event will consist of two regattas over a 10-day period. The first three days, March 16-18, will be the WMRT Perth Match Cup, a World Tour-level event. From this event the top two contenders will qualify for the World Championship-level event starting the next day (WMRT).
