Afghanistan set to play Test match against Australia in December

London: Afghanistan are likely to play their first-ever Test match against Australia later this year. The one-off Test is slated to take place from December 7 to December 11 in Perth.

According to a report in ESPncricinfo, both Cricket Australia and the Afghanistan Cricket Board are in an advanced stage of negotiations before finalising the schedule for the one-off Test.

According to the ICC`s Future Tours Programme, Australia were meant to host Afghanistan in November, immediately after the now postponed men`s T20 World Cup. However, due to the coronavirus crisis, many bilateral engagements have had their dates adjusted.

The one-off Test will not be the part of the ICC`s World Test Championship, as the tournament is limited to the top nine teams and does not include Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Afghanistan. The Test match against Australia will be Afghanistan`s fifth game in the longest format after the country gained Full-Member status in 2017.