Pakistan vs. Australia 1st Test Day 1 Live Score & Updates: Australia will play for the Benaud-Qadir Trophy in Pakistan, marking the country’s first Test series in 24 years. The Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed on Wednesday that the new trophy would be named after two legendary leg-spinners: Australia’s Richie Benaud and Pakistan’s Abdul Qadir. Benaud led Australia to a 2-0 series victory in Pakistan in 1959, and after retiring from Test cricket, he became a well-known TV commentator. Qadir took 45 wickets in 11 Test matches against Australia.
“I am delighted to give my approval for Richie’s name to be on this trophy alongside Abdul Qadir’s,” Daphne Benaud, Benaud’s wife said in a statement released by the PCB. “Richie had a lot of respect for Abdul, and the fact that they were both leg spinners has a nice ring to it.”Cricket Australia has agreed to present the Benaud-Qadir trophy at the conclusion of each men’s Test series played between the two countries, according to the PCB. According to PCB CEO Faisal Hasnain, there is no better way to kick off the historic series than with the names of two “absolute legends and icons of this great game.”Both captains, Australia’s Pat Cummins and Pakistan’s Babar Azam unveiled the trophy at the Pindi Cricket Stadium two days before the series-opening Test.
“We truly are standing on the shoulders of these greats of the past who helped to grow and popularise the game, and if my team can collect that trophy at the end of this series, it would be the perfect end to the Test part of this historic tour,” Cummins said. Cricket legends such as Benaud and Qadir, according to Azam, should be recognized, and “the game is today healthy, wealthy, and strong because of such individuals and their legacy.”The last time Australia’s Test team visited Pakistan was in 1998. Since then, Pakistan has played its “home” series against Australia in neutral venues.
