Australia’s cricketers will play their first-ever Test against Afghanistan in Hobart later this year ahead of hosting the Ashes against England, officials announced on Wednesday.
“We are also incredibly excited to welcome Afghanistan to our shores for a historic first Test match against Australia,” said Cricket Australia’s interim CEO Nick Hockley. The Test will be played at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena from November 27, with Australia then facing England at Brisbane’s Gabba ground in the first Test of the five-match Ashes series beginning on December 8.
“The story of the Afghanistan cricket team is one of the most uplifting in international sport,” added Hockley.
Afghanistan was granted Test status in 2018 with Australia originally planning to face it for the first time in the longest form of the game last year, but that match had to be scrapped as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the global cricket calendar.
Earlier, CA said it was hopeful England’s band of vociferous travelling fans would be allowed to travel for the Ashes series, which concludes in Perth in January, but that depended on government COVID-19 restrictions over arrivals and quarantine.
Australia’s fixtures (2021/22):
One-off Test vs Afghanistan: Nov. 27-Dec. 1: Blundstone Arena, Hobart
The Ashes vs England: Dec. 8-12: 1st Test: Brisbane; Dec. 16-20: 2nd Test: Adelaide (day/night); Dec. 26-30: 3rd Test: Melbourne; Jan. 5-9, 2022: 4th Test: Sydney; Jan. 14-18: 5th Test: Perth.
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