LAHORE: In its first tour of Pakistan in 24 years, Australia’s cricket team wants to spend the most time in Rawalpindi.

Cricket Australia on Friday confirmed its first tour of Pakistan since 1998, having agreed a revised schedule with the Pakistan Cricket Board which will see the first of three Tests being played in Rawalpindi, which will also host three One-day Internationals and the lone Twenty20 International.

That means Australia will spend just over more than half of their tour — 20 out of 39 days — in Rawalpindi with Karachi, which was scheduled to host the first Test, now switching with Rawalpindi while Lahore, originally chosen as the venue for the white-ball matches, will keep the third Test.

The PCB said in a statement on Friday that the schedule was revised “to ease logistical and operational challenges as well as to avoid Pakistan Day rehearsals, which usually commence in Islamabad in the second week of March”.

The Pindi Cricket Stadium was the venue where New Zealand abruptly called off their tour in September, minutes before the first ODI match of the series was to be played after reportedly receiving a security threat, which was not shared with the Pakistani authorities.

That seemed to be a blow for Pakistan’s ambitions of hosting top international sides but PCB’s relentless efforts have seen a quick turnaround with Australia being the first top side arriving to the country this year.

Fresh off the back of a comprehensive home Ashes victory against England, Australia will kick off their tour on March 4 with the opening Test in Rawalpindi.

The second Test will be played at Karachi from March 12-16 followed by the final Test at Lahore from March 21-25.

The three ODIs will be played between March 29 and April 2 with the T20 on April 5.

Both the cricketing boards have agreed that the Aust­ralian Test team will arrive in Islamabad on Feb 27 on a chartered flight before spen­ding one day in isolation.

Their limited-overs players are due to arrive in Lahore on March 24 following isolation in Australia. They will join up with other members of the side after a one-day isolation and then travel to Islamabad.

Test matches will be part of the ICC World Test Championship while the ODIs are linked to the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League from which the top eight sides, including hosts India, will qualify directly for the 2023 50-over World Cup.

PCB chief executive Faisal Hasnain said he was pleased that Cricket Australia has approved Australia’s five-week tour to Pakistan and also welcomed the calibre of players expected to tour.

“We are pleased that the Cricket Australia Board has formally approved their side’s five-week tour itinerary and confirmed that their best available players will visit Pakistan for the first time in 24 years,” Faisal was quoted as saying in the PCB news release.

“We are really excited to host Pat Cummins and his players, and look forward to a competitive series. While Australia will arrive at the back of strong performances in their home series against England, our team has been playing excellent cricket resulting in our players sweeping the ICC Awards.

“This braces for a keenly contested series, something that the fans will thoroughly enjoy and remember for a long time,” added Faisal, pointing to the Pakistan’s strong performance in recent times.

Agencies add: Cricket Australia chief executive officer Nick Hockley thanked the PCB and both the Australian and Pakistan governments for ensuring that the tour will go ahead.

“I would like to thank the PCB and both the Pakistan and Australian Governments for ensuring the tour will proceed for the first time in 24 years,” CA chief executive Nick Hockley said in a statement.

“I would also like to thank the Australian Cricketers Association and the players, coaches, support teams, staff and security experts for their collaboration in the planning for the tour.

“This is a historic occasion and important for the global growth and health of the game. We are looking forward to an exciting series bet­­ween two world-class teams.”

Test captain Pat Cummins was convinced most frontline Australia players would travel to Pakistan.

“I think we’ll get close to a full-strength squad,” Cummins told local media on Thursday. “There is still a little bit of work to do. We have received a lot of information and it has been great. All the pre-tour security and bio-security work has been done and it’s been fantastic.”

Itinerary:

March 4-8: First Test (Rawalpindi)

March 12-16: Second Test (Karachi)

March 21-25: Third Test (Lahore)

March 29: First ODI (Rawalpindi)

March 31: Second ODI (Rawalpindi)

April 2: Third ODI (Rawalpindi)

April 5: One-off T20I (Rawalpindi).

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2022