Cricket Australia is entrusting Pakistan with serving to carry life again to the Perth Test after a run of COVID cancellations was adopted by a disappointing crowd towards West Indies final summer season.
Officials have confirmed Perth will host the primary Test of the boys’s summer season as a part of a new-look schedule for cricket in 2023-24.
The choice to award Perth a mid-December Test towards Pakistan comes at the price of Adelaide, which can as a substitute host West Indies for a second straight summer season however in January this time.
CA’s reasoning was two-fold.
Firstly, Australia’s commitments abroad till early December severely restricted choices, given the primary Test can’t begin till halfway by way of the month.
A Perth Test may due to this fact solely be on the very begin or finish of the summer season, given its timezone would have it clashing with the Big Bash League if performed in the course of January.
Perhaps extra importantly, CA is determined to see a return to large crowds in Western Australia.
Since the brand new stadium was opened in 2018-19, each the 2020-21 and 2021-22 Tests have been cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
A complete of solely 42,517 attended the 5 days of final summer season’s opening Test there towards West Indies, and CA are eager to keep away from a repeat given the boys from the Caribbean tour once more this summer season.
Pakistan will due to this fact play in Perth beginning on December 14, earlier than the sequence strikes to the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and New Year’s Test in Sydney.
A day one crowd of 63,000 attended the MCG final time Pakistan performed on Boxing Day in 2016, and officers have been spurred on by good-sized crowds they helped to attract in Melbourne and Sydney throughout final 12 months’s T20 World Cup.
There is a perception Pakistan have a number of gamers who’re large enough stars to assist advertising the summer season schedule round.
“You’ve got (Shaheen Shah) Afridi who is one of the best bowlers in the world, and Babar (Azam) who is arguably in the top batters in the world,” Australia spinner Nathan Lyon mentioned.
“It’s going to be exciting to have them out here. To have them in Melbourne and Sydney, I think that will be a decent Boxing Day crowd, for sure.
“They pull a crowd in all places they go. I do know after we went over to Pakistan, they completely love the sport of cricket over there.”
Australia will face West Indies for a second straight summer as part of a quirk of the ICC schedule after Pakistan leave, with Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane.
The ladies will begin the summer season with ODIs and T20s towards West Indies, earlier than they tour to India over Christmas and later host South Africa in a multi-format sequence in December and January.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
