Australia confirm first Pakistan tour in 24 years

Australia’s men’s cricket team is set to tour Pakistan for the first time after 24 years.

Australia has organised three Tests, three one-day internationals and one T20 in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore.

The three-Test series, set for March 4th to 25th, will form part of the World Test Championship.

BBC reports that confirmation of these matches comes five months after New Zealand abandoned their tour of Pakistan following a government "security alert".

England also withdrew their men's and women's teams from series that were scheduled to take place last October.

The England men's team will now play seven T20s in Pakistan in September before returning for three Tests in November and December after the next T20 World Cup in Australia.

Cricket Australia (CA) thanked the Pakistan Cricket Board and both governments for "facilitating" this spring's tour.

No international cricket was played in Pakistan for six years following an attack on the Sri Lanka team by gunmen in 2009, with the majority of their home matches being held in the United Arab Emirates instead.

Touring teams began to return in 2015 and Pakistan hosted their first home men's Test for 12 years when Sri Lanka travelled there in 2019.

Pakistan toured Australia in 2019, losing both the Test and T20 series.

Pakistan toured England in 2020 and 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic, and in the first tour in particular agreed to strict bio-secure conditions in order to play.

Australia men in Pakistan 2022:

4-8 March: 1st Test, Rawalpindi

12-16 March: 2nd Test, Karachi

21-25 March: 3rd Test, Lahore

29 March: 1st ODI, Rawalpindi

31 March: 2nd ODI, Rawalpindi

2 April: 3rd ODI, Rawalpindi

5 April: T20I, Rawalpindi