Pakistan welcomed Test cricket on their shores for the first time in a decade.
Pakistan welcomed Test cricket on their home soil for the first time in a decade as part of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. This is the first time a Test match is being played in Pakistan ever since the terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore back in March of 2009.
Ironically, it is Sri Lanka who will be the first visiting team to play a Test cricket match in Pakistan. As progressing as this may sound, the International Cricket Council isn’t going to take any unnecessary risks regarding security.
With this, the governing body has sent two different sets of match officials for the two Tests held in Rawalpindi and National Stadium Karachi. Michael Gough, Richard Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth, and match referee Andrew Pycroft will officiate the Test match at Rawalpindi.
After the first Test, they will travel back to Dubai according to a report. Come the second Test match, Jeff Crowe (match referee) and umpires Bruce Oxenford, Joel Wilson, and Gregory Brathwaite will officiate.
Pakistan has, in recent years, hosted limited-overs matches. Teams that have participated were Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, West Indies. In all the matches played, one neutral and one local umpire officiated ODIs while two local officials oversaw every T20 match. In a first since the terror attacks, all officials overseeing the Tests will be neutral.
Pakistan will face Sri Lanka in two Tests followed by a three-match ODI series against the Netherlands. To find out more about Pakistan’s upcoming matches, visit Betwala’s page.
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