Ultimate Guide: All you need to know for PAKvAUS Tests

When does it start?

It's been a generation in the making but after an absence of 8,530 days, Australia and Pakistan will again meet in Test cricket on Pakistan soil from Friday afternoon, with play to start at 4pm AEDT.

There were no warm-up games scheduled for either side, so after arriving last weekend and having a handful of training sessions on the Pindi Cricket Stadium outfield, the Australian and Pakistan sides are straight into the action.

Schedule

Australia and Pakistan will play three Tests in three weeks, with only a three-day and four-day break either side of the second Test.

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

Three ODIs and a one-off T20 match will follow, all of which will be played in Rawalpindi, between March 29 and April 5.

How can I watch or listen? 

The tour of Pakistan will be broadcast exclusively in Australia on Fox Sports and Kayo subscription services. Fox/Kayo signed a deal that will see them broadcast all of Pakistan's home games until April 2023, at least.

Kayo offers a 14-day free trial for new subscribers, and you can sign up for that here.

Fox and Kayo coverage will take the feed provided by the local host broadcaster, PTV, but will have their own studio show, hosted by Isa Guha, before play and at lunch breaks.

Television commentary on the ground will feature former Australia players Michael Kasprowicz and Simon Katich as well as Pakistan legend Waqar Younis. Respected South African caller Mike Haysman will be joined by Pakistan's Bazid Khan and Urooj Mumtaz as well as Englishman Rob Key.

Radio commentary will be provided by SEN, which has a team on the ground in Pakistan, with Adam Collins leading the call along with Katich and Younis.

What about live scores, news and highlights?

Cricket.com.au and the CA Live app have you covered here. There will be live scores for every Test, ODI and the T20, as well as highlights of every key moment to go with reports, breaking news, analysis and interviews from our reporters throughout the series.

You can also catch up on all the latest news via The Unplayable Podcast, where we will be joined by special guests to dissect all the talking points throughout the tour. Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts and anywhere else you get your pods.

How's the time difference?

Pakistan is currently six hours behind Australia's eastern seaboard, which makes it pretty good for Aussie viewers. Play will start at 10am local for each of the Test matches, which is 4pm AEDT, 3.30pm in Adelaide and 1pm in Perth.

Stumps is scheduled at 11pm AEDT each night (10.30pm Adelaide, 8pm Perth) but we all know there'll likely be an extra half-hour used to get the overs in.

Daylight savings ends in Australia on April 3 this year, so it won't impact the Test series.

Given Pakistan is a predominantly Muslim country, the Test match session times will be adjusted on Fridays to accommodate Islam's requirement for the weekly prayer, which will lead to an extended first session and longer lunch break. This will affect the first day of the opening Test, and the fifth day of the third Test. The second Test does not include a Friday. 

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Test match session times
(Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time)

Coin toss: 3.30pm (day one only)

First session: 4pm-6pm

Lunch: 6pm-6.40pm

Second session: 6.40pm-8.40pm

Tea: 8.40pm-9pm

Third session: 9pm-11pm

Friday only adjusted session times

First session: 4pm-6.30pm

Lunch: 6.30pm-7.30pm

Second session: 7.30pm-9pm

Tea: 9pm-9.20pm

Third session: 9.20pm - 11.20pm

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The ODIs that follow will be day-night affairs while the T20 will be an evening game, making the time difference far less appealing for Australia-based viewers.

ODI matches will start at 3pm local, which is 9pm AEDT or 6pm in Perth. The one-off T20 will start at 8pm local, or 1am AEST, with Daylight Savings having ended in Australia when this game rolls around on April 5.

What will conditions be like?

March can traditionally be hot and humid in Pakistan, particularly in Karachi in the country's south, with daily maximum temperatures in the low 30s commonplace.

However, the weather will be much cooler for the first Test in Rawalpindi in the north, with temperatures in the early 20s forecast for this week.

There's a slight chance of rain around on the afternoon of the third day, and on the morning of the fourth, but otherwise the long-range forecast is looking clear for the first Test.

How about the pitches?

Given the lack of recent Test match cricket in Pakistan, it's a bit of guesswork here, and the old adage cricketers like to roll out about being able to adapt quickly will never be more apt.

The Australians got their first glimpse at the surface for the opening Test on Tuesday evening, when an inviting looking strip that looked ready for immediate play greeted them at training. How it looks come Friday morning will go some way to shaping the XIs for both sides.

Image Id: A2DECD2DDCF449E99E6F0F113F6BE83A Image Caption: Australia interim coach Andrew McDonald and opener David Warner inspect the pitch at Rawalpindi Stadium on Tuesday // cricket.com.au

Whatever happens, Australia won't have to play on the matting surface that greeted them in their first ever Test on Pakistani soil in 1956. More on those early tours here from Andrew Ramsey.

Will there be crowds?

Yes! Pakistan's government has approved full capacity crowds at all venues for vaccinated spectators. The PCB put just half of all tickets for the Rawalpindi Test on sale before getting approval for full capacity, albeit with social distancing measures in place, and those tickets sold out in record time. Ticket prices start at just 100 Pakistani Rupees, which equates to about 77 cents in Australian currency. Even the most expensive tickets, the 500-rupee VIP stand, works out to just A$3.90!

The Pindi Cricket Stadium can accommodate about 19,000 people, but colourful temporary seating to encourage social distancing has been installed on the concrete terraces, so capacity will be a little down on that figure. But it should still make for a brilliant atmosphere.

Black armbands

The Australians will wear black armbands and there will be minute's silence pre-game to remember Rod Marsh, the legendary Australian wicketkeeper-batter who died Friday morning, aged 74. Marsh scored his first Test century against Pakistan in 1972 in Adelaide, toured the country with Australia in 1980 and 1982. His last Test was against Pakistan in Sydney in early 1984.  

How are the sides shaping up?  

Australia enter the Test series fairly settled and fully fit. Confidence is high following their thrashing of England during the summer, but new skipper Pat Cummins and his men know they cannot take Pakistan lightly in these unfamiliar conditions.

Josh Hazlewood has fully recovered from the side strain that kept him out of the final four Ashes Tests and he's expected to immediately regain his spot, which could see Ashes hero Scott Boland on the outer.

Steve Smith has overcome the concussion he suffered in the T20 series against Sri Lanka when he knocked himself out diving over the boundary to save a six, completing his final recovery milestone – facing fast bowling – at training on Tuesday.

The key question facing Australia is do they stick with three quicks plus Nathan Lyon, or drop one to go in with two spinners. The Aussies have Ashton Agar and the uncapped Mitchell Swepson in reserve, and the bowling prowess of allrounder Cameron Green may give them confidence to play just two frontline quicks, which would likely mean either Mitchell Starc or Hazlewood would sit out.

Usman Khawaja looks set to hold his spot as David Warner's opening partner in what will be his first match for Australia in the country of his birth.

Pakistan, meanwhile, have had a less than ideal build-up, with injuries and COVID-19 disrupting their preparations.

Back in December, opener Abid Ali had heart surgery after he complained of chest pain while batting in a first-class match, and faces an uncertain road back to international cricket. Abid had been second only to Babar Azam in scoring Test runs for Pakistan since his debut in late 2019, averaging 49.16 from 16 Tests.

This week, leading quick Hasan Ali (muscle strain) and allrounder Faheem Ashraf (hamstring) were also ruled out of the first Test due to injury.

Hasan – who took a ten-wicket haul in the most recent Test in Rawalpindi, against South Africa last February – is a particular blow after a strong 2021, while seam-bowling allrounder Ashraf had provided balance to the Pakistan side last year and allowed them to pick two spinners when conditions suited.

Hasan's absence had put Haris Rauf in line for a Test debut in his home town before he too was ruled out after testing positive to COVID-19.

Pakistan will now be sweating on the health of their star quick, Shaheen Shah Afridi. He and Rauf, teammates at the Lahore Qalanders, were among a group that visited their coach Aaqib Javed – who was positive with COVID-19 – at his hotel room amid celebrations of their Pakistan Super League title win.

Australia's spin-bowling consultant Fawad Ahmed, another member of the Lahore side that won the PSL and who sat next to Shaheen on the flight to Islamabad after the PSL final, has also tested positive with COVID-19 this week.

Naseem Shah has now been elevated to the Test squad and looks set to partner Shaheen, giving him a second crack at Australia after his debut at the Gabba in the first Test of the 2019 series in Australia.

Imam-ul-Haq appears locked in a battle with Shan Masood to win the opening batting spot vacated by Abid, while Babar has not been at his best recently, captaining his Karachi side to eight straight defeats in the PSL. However, the star right-hander averages 110 from three Tests in Rawalpindi.

Fawad Alam, who had a decade-long absence from the national team before returning in 2020, looms as a lynchpin of their middle order, and averaged more than 57 in Test cricket last year.

Form guide 

Australia has not played any Tests overseas since the 2019 Ashes series, when they drew 2-2 with England to retain the Ashes for the first time in England in 18 years.

They were in supreme form at home this past summer, beating England 4-0, and were one-wicket away from another 5-0 whitewash.

Pakistan last played Test cricket in early December, comprehensively beating Bangladesh, with off-spinner Sajid Khan taking 16 wickets for the series.

Before that, they drew 1-1 against West Indies in August, which included a narrow one-wicket loss followed by a comfortable win. Afridi took 18 wickets at 11.27 in four innings.

A new trophy

To mark the occasion of Australia's first visit to the country in 24 years, the teams will play for the honour to lift the inaugural Benaud-Qadir Trophy. Named after two legendary leg-spinners, Australia's Richie Benaud and Pakistan's Abdul Qadir, the trophy was unveiled on Wednesday by captains Pat Cummins and Babar Azam.

Benaud played in Australia's first ever Test in Pakistan in 1956, and captained the first full-tour in 1959, while Qadir was prolific with his leg-spin in the 1970s and 80s, and took 45 wickets in 11 Tests against the Aussies.

Umpires

Since the pandemic began, the ICC has been using home umpires for Test series, with an extra review granted to each team. Pakistan's Aleem Dar and Ashan Raza will be the on-field umpires for all three Tests. Dar is on the ICC's Elite panel, and Raza is part of the Pakistan Cricket Board's international panel.

Asif Yaqoob, who was named the PCB's Umpire of the Year for 2020 and 2021, will be the third umpire in the first and third Tests, while Rashid Riaz will do that job for the second Test.

The ICC has flown in its top match referee, Ranjan Madugalle, from Sri Lanka to oversee the Test series.

Image Id: 4F78AF7C4E6241CCB21C0A1C2F517D66 Image Caption: Australia captain Pat Cummins and Pakistan captain Babar Azam unveil the Benaud-Qadir Trophy at Rawalpindi Stadium // Cricket Australia

There will be DRS, with Hawk-Eye's ball-tracking and UltraEdge sound-based edge-detection technology available. However, there will be no Hot-Spot (which is produced by a different technology company) in use for this series. The technology available to the third umpire is provided by the host broadcaster and agreed between the two countries.

World Test Championship update

Australia and Pakistan sit second and third on the World Test Championship standings, respectively, heading into this series. A total of 36 points are available in the three-Test series, and the WTC is now ranked on the percentage of points won rather than total points.

Australia, with a 4-0 result against England this summer, have won 52 of a possible 60 points so far, giving them a percentage of 86.66, while Pakistan have drawn 1-1 with the West Indies and beaten Bangladesh 2-0 in the current cycle, giving them a percentage of 75.

As is the norm now, over-rate offences will incur WTC points deductions, and they can be costly. England, who are currently last on the WTC table witth 10 points, lost 10 points for their diabolical over rate in last summer's Gabba Test.

Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Wasim, Nauman Ali, Naseem Shah, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood. Reserves: Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Haris

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. On standby: Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Renshaw

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

Australia ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports