The Australian cricket team, headed by skipper Patrick James Cummins, reached Pakistan Sunday night for the first time in 24 years. Australia last visited Pakistan in November 1998.
During the tour, the Aussie men will take on Green Shirts in three Test matches, the same number of ODIs and one T20. The first match of the Test series will begin on March 4 in Rawalpindi. It will be followed by Tests in Karachi and Lahore before three ODIs and a single T20, all in Rawalpindi.
Senior batsman Steve Smith posted a picture on Twitter of the 35-strong Australia tour party inside their charter flight’s cabin after it touched down in the Pakistan capital, Islamabad.
Pakistan have struggled to attract visiting sides since a fatal terror attack on the visiting Sri Lanka team’s bus in 2009. Australia pulled out of a tour five years earlier after a suicide blast at a Lahore church.
They last played in Pakistan in 1998, winning the three-Test series 1-0 and blanking the hosts in the three one-day internationals.
Having been forced to play their home games abroad — mostly in the United Arab Emirates — Pakistan appeared to have reassured international cricket authorities last year with both New Zealand and England scheduled to tour.
But the Black Caps hastily departed in September just minutes before their first match was due to start, citing security fears, and England postponed tours by both their men’s and women’s teams soon after.
The decisions incensed Pakistan cricket authori-ties, who felt they had done everything possible to ensure safety and security.
Those who arrived in Pakistan today include Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Marnus La-buschagne, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, Us-man Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc and others.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials wel-comed the players upon arrival at the Islamabad International Airport.
Test schedule:
March 4-8 — First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16 — Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25 — Third Test, Lahore
Pakistan squad
Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, and Zahid Mahmood.
Australia squad
Cricket Australia has already announced an 18-member Test squad.
Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazle-wood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, and David Warner.
‘Head of state-level’ protection
“The squad will be given ‘head of state-level secu-rity’,” a spokesman for Pakistan’s interior ministry told AFP.
“Such arrangements are only made for high-level foreign delegations, (and) the president and prime minister of Pakistan.” Roads will be blocked off when the Australians make the 15-kilometre (11-mile) commute, with their team bus to be shadowed by army helicopters. Snipers will be positioned on buildings surrounding the stadium, while nearby shops and offices have been ordered to close on match days, the interior ministry said. Similar arrangements will be in place for matches in Karachi and Lahore.
On Friday, Test skipper Pat Cummins had said his team was “comfortable” with security arrange-ments and excited by what lies ahead, as Australia prepare to jet into Pakistan on their first tour since 1998.—APP
