Australia to face Pakistan and New Zealand in consecutive Test series this season

Australia to face Pakistan and New Zealand in consecutive Test series this season

no photo

The Australian cricket team will go up against Pakistan and New Zealand in back-to-back Test series in what will turn out to be a busy season for the Aussies following this year’s World Cup. They will come to the Asian subcontinent in October 27 first against Sri Lanka before playing Pakistan.

2015 ICC ODI World Cup champions, Australia are in line to face-off against Pakistan and New Zealand in two consecutive pink-ball Tests in what promises to be an intense 2019 season for them. In a span of almost five months, Australia will go up against some of the biggest teams in the globe and wrap up their season next March.

The Gabba, at Brisbane, will play host to the first of two Tests against Pakistan from November 21, which will be followed by the second at Adelaide Oval, which will be a day-night Test.

In the scheduled released by Cricket Australia officials, Aaron Finch & Co. will go up against Kane Williamson-led New Zealand at Perth Stadium for the second day-night match before the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. They will end that series at the SCG in Sydney and the five Test matches will be the first on Australian soil that will be considered as part of the inaugural ICC Test Championship, where points are awarded to the nine participating nations.

Cricket Australia wanted to find an alternative date for the series, but India reportedly refused to budge, meaning three one-dayers against New Zealand will instead start in March, extending the season to its latest finish in 41 years.

This is the first time that Australia’s international season finishes in the month of March since the 1970s. The last time the season ended so late was in 1979 when Australia hosted Pakistan for a Test in Perth.

“Scheduling international cricket is challenging in that nine of the 10 major cricketing countries have seasons similar to ours. So working with them to find space in the calendar to fulfil our obligations to the ICC Future Tours Program is a juggling act.

“Cricket Australia took the position that while January was our preference for these ODI matches, there are times we need to honour our commitments to work in the greater context of international cricket scheduling,”  Cricket Australia’s head of operations Peter Roach told AFP.

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all