2005–06 Australian cricket season

The team also toured New Zealand for One Day Internationals in December, played five ODIs and three Tests in South Africa in February and March, and visited Bangladesh for the first time in April.

Australia won both their home Test series in November and December, winning the Frank Worrell Trophy by virtue of a 3–0 whitewash of the West Indies before defeating South Africa 2–0.

The Pura Cup was rounded off in March; Queensland Bulls qualified for their eighth successive final with a match to spare, while the Bushrangers and the Warriors fought for the last spot at the Junction Oval.

The week-end from 22 to 23 October saw a full round of ING Cup games, the Blues beating the Southern Redbacks to go top of the table, while the Bulls and the Western Warriors also chased down targets to record wins.

One Pura Cup game was played in the last week of October, the Blues facing the Redbacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and New South Wales prevailed for their fourth win of the season.

NSW regained the Pura Cup ascendancy two days later, however, completing a victory at the Warriors' ground as they chased 88 to win by eight wickets despite a second-innings 161 from Western Australia's Chris Rogers.

Two days later, on 11 November, Victorian Bushrangers began a three-day tour match with the West Indies – it was drawn, as each team only completed one of two innings, with Victoria making 571 in their 122.4 overs.

In the Pura Cup, the Blues took care of the Tigers inside three days, posting 522 for 9 declared before Stuart Clark took six wickets as Tasmania were bowled out for 294 and 138 in an innings-and-90-run defeat.

Six batsmen were then dismissed for sub-15 scores, with Shane Harwood notching up four scalps and Wise two, but Brad Haddin hung on to make 71 not out, and Matt Nicholson batted with him for 90 minutes for 9 to see the Blues close on seven for 139 and draw the game.

A warm-up match without List A status saw South Africa beat the Cricket Australia Chairman's XI at Lilac Hill, with medium pacer Garnett Kruger taking four wickets and Herschelle Gibbs hitting an unbeaten 91 in the chase.

Meanwhile, in the ING Cup, the Redbacks went second after beating the Tigers, former Test bowler Jason Gillespie making up for his wicketless match by taking part in an unbeaten eight-wicket stand of 34 to see the Redbacks to the target, and in the final match of the week the Bushrangers, including Shane Warne, beat the Bulls after Grant Lindsay had taken three wickets and the Bulls were bowled out for 185, Liam Buchanan and David Hussey hit half-centuries and the Bushrangers won by five wickets, taking a bonus point.

[1] With the Warriors out of their own stadium due to the Test match, they travelled east to Queensland and the Gabba, where Brett Dorey and Beau Casson helped them restrict the Bulls while in the field.

Two ING Cup matches were also played out on 18 December; the Bushrangers chased down a target of 247 set by the Tigers after David Hussey and Cameron White shared a fourth-wicket stand of 162, while Phil Jaques hit an unbeaten 158, a career-best in List A cricket, to give the Blues a total of 282 for 4 before Stuart Clark (7.3–0–36–4) and Michael Clarke (8–0–27–3) helped to bowl out the Redbacks for 209, which gave the Blues a 73-run win and five points in this top-of-the-table battle.

A century from Matthew Hayden and 72 off 54 balls from Andrew Symonds gave Australia a total of seven for 321 before they declared, and South Africa were bowled out for 181, with Shane Warne taking four second-innings wickets.

The following day, the Bushrangers bowled out Sri Lanka for 120, with Allan Wise taking five for 25, before Michael Klinger hit a half-century and Victoria won with seven wickets and 15.4 overs to spare, and in a final warm-up the South Africans beat the Queensland Academy by 46 runs after 80 from Jacques Kallis.

Wicket-keeper Hartley also hit 73 for the Bulls, who took a 280-run lead on first innings, and though the Warriors replied with 407 after Adam Voges' 178, they were bowled out shortly before tea on day four to set Queensland 128 in 40 overs.

Jehan Mubarak and Kumar Sangakkara shared a 112-run stand for the second wicket on the way to a total of eight for 282, and though Jacques Rudolph and Mark Boucher hit half-centuries South Africa were bowled out for 188 in the chase.

However, Phil Jaques made 94, the highest score by an Australian on ODI debut [3][permanent dead link‍], and Brett Lee took career-best figures of five for 22 [4] to help bowl South Africa out for 186, two less than in Brisbane three days earlier.

The weekend between 3 and 5 February also saw the final stages of the women's National League, with New South Wales Breakers playing Queensland Fire in three matches at the North Sydney Oval.

Chasing 155 to win, the Fire were six for 70, but wicket-keeper Jodie Purves made 61 and added 49 with Megan White for the eighth wicket to bring the series to a final decider.

The Breakers batted first in that match, and made the lowest score of the series with 146 all out, as Jude Coleman took four for 28; and with another top-score from Purves, this time for 37, the Fire needed three with three wickets in hand.

Graeme Smith rebuilt with Mark Boucher (partnership of 58) and Ashwell Prince, but another double strike, this time from substitute Malinga Bandara set South Africa back to five for 114.

South Africa were eventually all out for 181, with Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Tillakaratne Dilshan chipping in with a wicket each, and Sri Lanka qualified for the three-match final series.

In the only women's Test match of the season, the hosts won inside three of the scheduled four days; captain Karen Rolton opted to bat first, and made 63, and a half-century from Lisa Sthalekar took Australia to 250.

The final match of the Pura Cup's eighth week was also concluded; the Bulls earned a 138-run lead on first innings, then added 365 in their second with Clinton Perren making 168 not out before they declared.

The women's team played a series of three One-day Internationals over four days in the last week of February; they began at St Peter's College, Adelaide, where two of the three matches.

Tasmanian bowler Ben Hilfenhaus took ten for 87 in the match, including seven in the second innings, while Travis Birt top scored, hitting seven sixes and nineteen fours in a four-hour 160.

Effectively 88 for three overnight, the Warriors lost nightwatchman Beau Casson and Adam Voges in the first session, but Marcus North and Dave Bandy batted out four hours in a 211-run fifth-wicket partnership.

The final match of the domestic season was played at the 'Gabba, and after the Bushrangers had made 344 in the first innings (with three batsmen, Brad Hodge, Nick Jewell and David Hussey, making over three-quarters of the score), it was the hosts' turn to bat.

In fact, they batted past the previous state record of 687 from 1930–31, with Jimmy Maher (223), Shane Watson (201, retired hurt), Clinton Perren (173) and Martin Love (169) all passing 150 for Queensland.