Cricket

PCB announce fixtures for Australia series

Dixit Bhargav
|PublishedFeb 10, 2019

PERTH, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 04: Marcus Stoinis of Australia celebrates after taking the wicket of Heinrich Klaasen of South Africa during game one of the Gillette One Day International series between Australia and South Africa at Optus Stadium on November 04, 2018 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

PCB announce fixtures for Australia series: The Pakistani board has announced the fixtures for the five-match ODI series against Australia.

PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) has announced fixtures for five-match ODI series against Australia. With a lot been said and done about the fixtures of the series, it has put light on the respective comebacks of banned Australian duo of Steve Smith and David Warner.

The first ODI will be played on March 22 at Sharjah. In which will go down as a tightly-scheduled series, it will witness both the teams playing five ODIs within a span of 10 days across three venues. After the second ODI at Sharjah, both the teams will move to Abu Dhabi for the third ODI and then to Dubai for the last two ODIs.

It is worth mentioning that Smith and Warner will be available to play after March 29 this year. With the fourth ODI also scheduled to happen on the same date, Australia will be looking to play the duo hours after their ban gets lifted.

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Having said that, it won’t be an easy task for both of them to feature in the fourth ODI against Australia. Playing in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League, both the batsmen succumbed to respective elbow injuries which might delay their comeback, especially Smith.

While Warner is expected to recover by then, there is still on confirmation of Smith’s expected time of recovery. Most recently, Smith’s manager Warren Craig of Turning Point Management had expressed uncertainty over the 29-year old cricketer’s comeback in time for the Pakistan series.

The development has come as a sign in the affirmative for the Australian players who are to play in the 12th season of the Indian Premier League. The announcement will surely give them and their franchises clarity about the dates when they will be available.

PCB announce fixtures for Australia series

March 22 – First ODI at Sharjah

March 24 – First ODI at Sharjah

March 27 – First ODI at Abu Dhabi

March 29 – First ODI at Dubai

March 31 – First ODI at Dubai

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About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.