Canberra will host its first Test match next summer when Australia host Sri Lanka at Manuka Oval, but the Ashes has captivated the nation for the time being.

Former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy says the history attached to each ground is a part of what makes the Ashes so special.

But the Test great says the historical feeling, where "you feel the footsteps of the blokes before you for 150 years", is something Manuka Oval just doesn't have yet.

So he's put the onus on Australian skipper Steve Smith and his troops to create history of their own when they play in Canberra's first Test match.

"You just have to [create the history]. It's sort of a flat feeling for me going to that ground," Healy said at Channel Nine's Ashes launch at North Sydney Oval on Friday.

"I played the first Test in Hobart and it just has to be done. It's great for the Canberra people and you'll have to go without that, and get your head down and play good cricket.

"This group have got a lot to prove. They've got to really get up the rankings again and really play some consistent cricket.

"Don't worry about sledging, the history, don't worry about that. They've got to go one ball at a time and do their jobs. We've got to get that top six doing their job.

"It's not a club, it's a representative team and you've got a job to do. It's time they get some consistency and some real continuity in that team and get some performance going."

While Canberra is edging closer to its maiden Test match, a bid for a Big Bash League team in the capital is gathering steam.

The region's favourite cricketing son Brad Haddin has been named an official ambassador for the Canberra Big Bash Bid.

Former Australian captain Mark Taylor says a permanent BBL presence in the capital would be a massive boost for cricket in Canberra.

Taylor believes Test cricket and the shorter format can easily co-exist and doesn't believe the boom of Twenty20 will be to the detriment of the first class arena.

"It can [co-exist], all these games will change Test cricket to a certain extent and we've seen that in the one-day game over the last 50 years now," Taylor said.

"It's increased the rate of scoring, different strokes have been brought into the game, players have become fitter and stronger.

"Twenty20 cricket and one-day cricket had an influence on that. They will change the game but to me that doesn't necessarily mean that Test cricket is on the outer.

"You've still seen from all the hype around this Ashes series that people still like their Test cricket. I think they can co-exist, it's up to us administrators and players to make sure they do exist together.

"People want to see the thrash and the bash and the fun of the Twenty20, but they also want to see the serious contest of an Ashes series."