Historic home Test awaits for captain Paine

Leading Australia's Test XI out onto Blundstone Arena will be a career highlight for Tim Paine, who today dismissed concerns a solitary Test against Afghanistan was insufficient preparation for the five-Test Ashes series to follow.

Australia's maiden Test meeting with Afghanistan was today confirmed for Hobart from November 27 with the release of the full men's and women's international schedule.

It will be just the seventh Test for Afghanistan since gaining Full Member status with the International Cricket Council in 2017, and Australia's first Test since defeat to India at the Gabba in mid-January, and will come on the back of the T20 World Cup that is due to finish in mid-November.

"It will be a very proud moment for me to lead the Australian Test side out here," Paine told reporters in Hobart today.

"From a preparation point of view, it's going to be a really important Test to set us up for the Ashes.

"And Afghanistan have got some highly-talented spinners in particular that will create us a real challenge.

"Any Test match we play we want our full-strength side and it's not always possible these days but fingers crossed we can make it happen.

"In modern-day cricket you've got to be good at changing between formats quickly. We went into an Ashes in England two years ago now, and the only red-ball game we had was against each other.

"You've got to be adaptable, you've got to be ready to go 12 months of the year and our guys are very professional like that.

"With a couple of Sheffield Shield rounds in as well, I think our preparation will be excellent."

Afghanistan have won half of their matches in their Test infancy – beating Ireland, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe to join Australia as the only nations to win three of their first six Tests.

Australia have won nine of the 13 Tests they have played in Hobart, with one of their two defeats coming in their last match at the picturesque venue – against South Africa in 2016, which sparked a sea change in Australian cricket at that time.

Paine joked that the Australians were "going to move change rooms" from the 2016 nadir that saw them bowled out for 85 on the way to an innings and 80-run defeat, with only David Warner, Steve Smith and bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon from that Test likely to be in Australia's Test squad this summer.

"Last summer wasn't our best in key moments but I think over the past couple of years we've played some pretty consist cricket," Paine said.

"We're now talking about going from a good team to a great team and that Afghanistan Test and the Ashes this year is a really important part of that.

"Afghanistan are highly talented, they play a style of cricket you want to watch, they'll take the game on and they're quite aggressive."

The Australian team last featured Tasmanian players in a Hobart Test in December 2012 when Matthew Wade, then the side's wicketkeeper, and fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus played in a big win against Sri Lanka.

Not since Ricky Ponting in January 2010 has a Tasmanian captained the Australian Test team in front of their home crowd, when the former skipper struck a magnificent double century against Pakistan.

Paine, who has memories of watching Tasmania legends David Boon and Ponting from the Blundstone Arena grass embankment in his youth, was left shattered when Ponting scored a pair at the venue in 1999.

"It's not a good memory, but I do remember Ricky getting a pair against Pakistan, so I'll be trying to get a run just so I can better him on that one," Paine said.

Afghanistan's last Test was a six-wicket win over Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi in March, where gun spinner Rashid Khan bowled a mammoth 99.2 overs, the most overs in a Test match this century.

Rashid is no stranger to Australia having starred for the Adelaide Strikers in the past four seasons of the KFC BBL.

Australia have not faced a new Test opponent since their inaugural Test against Bangladesh in 2003, and confirmation of the clash with Afghanistan comes after early reports of a Test against Ireland in the 2022-23 summer.