LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced the schedule for the test series against Australia. In a statement, Pakistan’s top cricket body said, “Pakistan will make a visit Down Under later in the year to take on the Australian side for the Benaud-Qadir Trophy. The 3 Tests will be played at Perth, Melbourne, and Sydney cricket stadiums in December and January”.
It added that the trip will open at the Perth Stadium on 14 Dec, and it will mark the 1st instance of Pakistan playing a test at the ground. The two sides will face off in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground from 26 till 30 Dec, and the 3rd and final match will be played at Sydney from 3 January 2024.
Pakistan vs Australia
The green shirts have played 10 Tests matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and eight at the SCG – at both stadium Pakistan have won two tests each.
In the lead-up to the test series, Pakistan will play a four-day warm-up to adjust to the conditions Down Under. This will be Pakistan skipper Babar Azam’s 3rd Test trip of Australia. Earlier, he visited Australia in December 2016 and in November 2019.
Naseem Shah made his Pakistan debut at Brisbane in 2019 and since has evolved as a backbone of Pakistan’s bowling across all formats. He has 80 wickets in 42 matches. Pakistan last visited Australia for the ICC T20 World Cup and finished as the finalists.
Schedule
14-18 December: First Test, Perth Stadium
26-30 December: Second Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground
3-7 January: Third Test, Sydney Cricket Ground
