Big picture: Back to the future for Pakistan, Australia’s depth challenged
The 2027 ODI World Cup is starting to appear on the horizon and although it is still 16 months away, the number of ODI opportunities both teams have between now and then will diminish quickly.
Australia have 15 ODIs scheduled through the remainder of this year, six of which will be played in Pakistan and Bangladesh over the next two weeks. While games in subcontinental conditions won’t have much relevance to southern Africa, especially given the stifling Pakistan heat at this time of the year, the opportunities to trial combinations are precious.
Pakistan LWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia LWWWL
In the spotlight: Babar Azam and Cameron Green
Team news: Pakistan back experience, Australia trial youth
Pakistan will be tempted to field their best possible XI in the first ODI to gain an upper hand in the series with Babar set to slot back into No.3 while a three-pace, two-spin attack will be well-balanced for the conditions.
Pakistan (probable): 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Maaz Sadaqat, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Salman Ali Agha, 5 Abdul Samad, 6 Ghazi Ghouri (wk), 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Shaheen Afridi (capt), 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar Ahmed
Inglis confirmed a debut for Peake and that Stanlake would be part of the XI – his first outing since 2019 – but did not confirm the full side. Australia need a second stand-in opener alongside Short and the middle-order remains a mystery. There would be a temptation to play two spinners given they have three available but the evening dew may discourage it. Connolly won’t be available for the first match as he arrives in Pakistan on game day.
Australia (probable): 1 Matt Short, 2 Alex Carey, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Josh Inglis (capt & wk), 5 Matt Renshaw, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Ollie Peake, 8 Nathan Ellis, 9 Riley Meredith/Matt Kuhnemann/Tanveer Sangha, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Billy Stanlake
Pitch and conditions: Heat and dew set to dictate tactics
It is set to be a fraction cooler on Saturday compared to the oppressive heat that has featured this week in Rawalpindi and there are thunderstorms forecast in the area. The games are starting at 4.30pm local time to avoid the worst of the heat but it will mean dew will be a huge factor in the second half of the game. The toss could be vital.
“I’m just trying to soak it all in. We’ve got a core group of senior players that are here now, and it makes the guys that are inexperienced and coming in for their first tour, like me and Peaky, try and learn as much as we can and see how we go from there.”
Liam Scott on his first experience around the Australia squad
