In December and January, the squad led by Babar Azam will travel to Australia to play three Test matches against the host team. The three contests for the Benaud-Qadir Trophy will take place in Perth, Melbourne, and Sydney, respectively, as part of the World Test Championship.
Notably, the first Test will commence on December 14 at Optus Stadium, a venue where Pakistan has never played a Test match. The second one, the Boxing Day Test, will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Stadium, while the third and final match of the series will commence at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 3. Notably, the visiting team is anticipated to arrive in Australia following the upcoming ODI World Cup hiatus. In addition, they will play a four-day warm-up match to assess and adjust to Australian conditions.
In their previous series in Pakistan, Australia defeated the Babar Azam-led squad by a score of 1-0, so the visiting team will be out for revenge this time around.
The West Indies series is scheduled to start on January 17.
The first Test between Australia and the West Indies will commence at Adelaide Oval on January 17, while the second will begin at the Gabba in Brisbane on January 25. Due to a peculiarity in the upcoming FTP, this will be the West Indies’ third consecutive season. In addition, following the conclusion of the Test series, the two countries will begin a white-ball series on February 2.
All white-ball cricketers will be available to play in the Big Bash League (BBL) during the Test series, but will be required to attend the national camp for three ODIs and three T20Is once the series concludes. With the T20 World Cup scheduled for later next year, the short-ball series will be extremely important for both of these teams.
Schedule
Date | Home Team | Visiting Team | Ground |
14-18 December | Australia | Pakistan | Perth |
26-30 December | Australia | Pakistan | MCG |
3-7 January | Australia | Pakistan | SCG |
17-21 January | Australia | West Indies | Adelaide |
25-29 January | Australia | West Indies | Gabba |