Cricket Australia (CA) has announced that the Gabba has reclaimed its spot as the traditional Test opener, kicking off a bumper season of international cricket that will extend through to mid-March next year.

Key points: Australia will host Pakistan at the Gabba in the opening Test of the summer

Australia will host Pakistan at the Gabba in the opening Test of the summer New Zealand will play three Tests across December, before returning for an ODI series in March

New Zealand will play three Tests across December, before returning for an ODI series in March Australia has not hosted a men's international match so late outside a major tournament since 1979

The Brisbane venue will host the first of Australia's two-Test series against Pakistan to start on November 21, before a day-night clash at Adelaide Oval that begins on November 29.

Outgoing CA chief executive James Sutherland had described the Gabba as having the "best Test cricket pitch in the country" last year, but said that the standard of the facility meant it missed out on being a host during the India series.

However the venue has been reinstated as the Test opener for the 2019/20 season.

The Gabba will also be the first venue in which Australia plays for ICC Test Championship points on home soil.

The new Test Championship "will give Test cricket greater context and make every match count", CA head of cricket operations Peter Roach said.

Australia's first matches in the inaugural championship will be during this summer's Ashes in England.

Organisers will hope for improved attendances in Brisbane. ( AAP: David Hunt )

'Scheduling international cricket is challenging'

New Zealand will face Tim Paine's Australia side in the second day-night Test of the summer in Perth, beginning on December 12, plus the summer's showpiece MCG and SCG Tests, before they return for a three-match ODI series in Sydney and Hobart that starts on March 13.

The international summer has been extended well beyond summer after CA failed to change dates of a tour of India.

Not since 1979 has Australia hosted a men's international match — outside of a major tournament — so late in the season.

The 2015 World Cup final was held at the MCG on March 29 but the international season is generally over by the end of summer.

Perth Stadium will host its first day-night Test when Australia hosts New Zealand. ( ABC News: Dean Bilton )

CA hoped to schedule the trans-Tasman ODI series in January, but Aaron Finch's team will instead travel to the subcontinent during that month, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refusing to budge on dates.

"We evaluated different options for an alternative and saw the most value in the March opportunity," Mr Roach said.

"Cricket Australia took the position that while January was our preference for these ODI matches, there are times we need to honour our commitments to work in the greater context of international cricket scheduling.

"Scheduling international cricket is challenging in that nine of the 10 major cricketing countries have seasons similar to ours, so working with them to find space in the calendar to fulfil our obligations to the ICC Future Tours Program is a juggling act."

The scheduling of two ODIs at the SCG so late in the season could pose problems for the football codes, with the Sydney Swans, Sydney Roosters and NSW Waratahs all scheduled to play home matches there during the 2020 season.

The dates for the ODI's clash with the opening rounds of the 2020 NRL season and is just one week before the AFL is set to kick off.

The SCG has had plenty of use in recent weeks, and the schedule will not get much clearer. ( AAP: Craig Golding )

T20 fixtures dominated by women's World Cup

The women's T20 World Cup final is at the MCG on March 8, with CA keen to ensure there is no overlap between that event and the men's ODI series.

Meg Lanning's team will warm up for the World Cup with limited-overs matches against Sri Lanka at North Sydney Oval and Brisbane's Allan Border Field, starting on September 29.

Australia will also host a women's T20 tri-series involving India and England (January 31-February 12) in Melbourne and Canberra before turning their attention to the World Cup.

Australia won the T20 World Cup in the West Indies last year, beating England in the final.

Australia kicks off its World Cup defence on February 21 when it hosts India in Sydney.

The national men's team will open its season with a three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka, starting at Adelaide Oval on October 27, then play another three-match T20 series against Pakistan that begins at the SCG on November 3.

ABC/AAP