Pakistan ready for Australia challenge

On the eve of his first Test match as captain, Shahid Afridi says his Pakistan side is united, following disciplinary issues that marred the Australia tour seven months ago.



Pakistan meet Australia, which has not lost a test to Pakistan for 15 years, at Lord's in England tomorrow, in the first of two test matches.



The matches will be played at a neutral venue, but are considered a home series for Pakistan, which is playing their home internationals on neutral territory, because of ongoing concerns about the security of teams touring the country.



The second test at Headingley starts on July 21.



For Afridi and Pakistan it is a fresh start.



Afridi is playing his first test match in four years, while Pakistan's previous test series was a 3-0 defeat in Australia. Several sanctions were meted out to players following that tour for disciplinary infractions.



Batsmen Mohammed Yousuf, Pakistan's third-highest run-scorer in tests, and Younis Khan, Pakistan's fifth-highest run-scorer in tests, were given indefinite bans for alleged fighting.



Younis, who quit the captaincy before the Australia tour, has subsequently had his ban overturned on appeal, but has not been selected for this tour.