First day-night Ashes test confirmed

Pakistan are still reeling from a 2-0 result in New Zealand – their first Test series loss to the Black Caps since 1985.

It was a brief reign and they have since slipped to fourth on the table behind third-ranked Australia after their disappointing New Zealand tour.

They were defeated there by hefty margins in both Tests, including an ignominious collapse of nine wickets in the final session of the second Test in Hamilton.

The first Test will return to Brisbane’s Gabba before the Adelaide Oval will play host to the first ever Day-Night Ashes Test. Micky Arthur’s men are without a win there in nine Tests having succumbed to nine straight defeats.

Pakistan have not won a series in 11 trips to Australia, where they have lost their last nine Tests, but Wahab was undaunted.

It is entirely possible that by early January, after the Australian summer’s Test finale at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia will be riding a four-Test winning streak and heralding a successful transition. But Toy Arthur’s statement is obviously far more important than the statement that one of the best batsmen of a generation is seeking to make in Australia, even when the real Mickey Arthur insists that what happens on the field is most important.

“They were there for 30 years but now they just want me to do well and want Australia to win every single time, no matter who we’re playing”.

Inzamam said that Pakistan had to come out of the past and try to play cricket of the present era.

“So we’re under no illusions how hard it’s going to be for us”. It was so long ago.

Inside, amongst the plaudits and trophies, and team jerseys, JP Duminy and his wife of five years, Sue, have erected a “cool wall” of sorts, a montage of pictures that tell the life story of an odyssey that has gone from Strandfontein to all over the world, on the back of one of the most stylish, if not completely fulfilled, talents in South African cricket.

“He bowls at good pace, swings the ball, he s got a fast-arm action and knows his game really well for a young bowler. It’s not as good as them but they can understand what’s going on”, Khawaja said on Tuesday.

Buoyed by the public reaction, the same venue was used for a day-night Test against South Africa last month, while Australia face Pakistan under lights in the first Test at Brisbane this week.

Yasir missed the warm-up match in Cairns because of a back injury but took a five-wicket haul with the pink ball in Dubai when Pakistan played their maiden day-night match against West Indies in October.

Left-arm paceman Mohammad Amir looms as Pakistan’s trump card and will be licking his lips over the prospect of bowling under lights with a pink ball at the Gabba in Brisbane this week.

You can guarantee the move of the Gabba away from its traditional slot at the start of the home summer will cause a ripple of discussion around the Australian dressing room.

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI).

Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Richard Illingworth (ENG).