Australia 'comfortable' with security on eve of Pakistan tour

Pat Cummins said on Friday his team were "comfortable" with security arrangements and excited by what lies ahead, as Australia prepare to jet into Pakistan on their first tour since 1998. They are due to leave over the weekend ahead of the first of three Tests in Rawalpindi on March 4 -- giving them less than a week to acclimatise and without any warm-up matches. It will be followed by Tests in Karachi and Lahore before three ODIs and a single Twenty20, all in Rawalpindi. "We've got to a place where everyone hopping on the plane is comfortable with where it's all sitting. It's been a really thorough body of work that the security and the logistics teams have worked through," Cummins said.

Australia captain Pat Cummins is watched by teammates as he bowls during their final practice session before their departure for the team's first tour of Pakistan since 1998 (AFP Photo)"And obviously the added layer of bio-security in these times as well. So we're feeling really good and once we get over there, we're going to be able to just concentrate on the cricket. "More than anything it's a really special tour," he added. "We're going to fly over there and experience something for the first time. We're really excited, everyone is in a good place." Cricket-mad Pakistan endured a long spell without a visit from an international team following a terror attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan side in Lahore in 2009. They were forced to play their home international matches abroad -- mostly in the United Arab Emirates -- until 2015, when normal service tentatively resumed.

Australia coach Andrew McDonald (L), Marnus Labuschagne (C) with captain Pat Cummins during their final practice session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) ahead