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    • AUS vs PAK 2024/25, AUS vs PAK 1. ODI Match Preview
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    AUS vs PAK 2024/25, AUS vs PAK 1. ODI Match Preview

    Idris Bevan Posted on

    Big picture: Pakistan’s years-long divide amid chaos

    Australia’s best bat-off in Tests takes center stage. But before India travel to the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the men’s international season begins with a white-ball tour of Pakistan. This includes three ODIs and T20Is each and starts on Monday in Melbourne.

    For the hosts, this represents the bulk of their preparation for the Champions Trophy, with just a one-off game in Sri Lanka in February. Barring David Warner’s retirement since the ODI World Cup, they remain largely anchored in the format and are coming off a 3-2 win in England in September.

    Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head miss the series against Pakistan due to paternity leave and Cameron Green is injured. But otherwise the key names will be featured – at least for parts of the series – as the fast bowlers in particular continue to be managed ahead of the Tests. The big three, including Pat Cummins, who remains ODI captain despite not having played a game since the World Cup final, are expected to feature in two of the three games.

    Despite the dwindling importance of bilateral ODIs, it still feels extraordinary that Pakistan have not played a game since their last appearance in the World Cup almost a year ago (so the form guide below is pretty much irrelevant). However, don’t think for a minute that this means a lack of drama. Despite not facing a ball in ODIs during this period, Babar Azam resigned as captain, returned and then resigned again.

    After being sidelined during the Test series against England, he is back for this tour along with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, while Mohammad Rizwan has taken over the captaincy – at least for this week – as they look to put together a side that can do it Take part in a home Champions Trophy.

    White-ball coach Gary Kirsten is also gone, having not played an ODI during his short tenure. Jason Gillespie has been given the interim job for this tour, providing an unexpected chance to face his home country. It could be a trial run of sorts as no coach has yet been named for the subsequent Zimbabwe tour, although it is understood Gillespie is unlikely to be offered the job full-time – and whether he wants that is a mystery another question. However, a few weeks ago it appeared he would be the first coach to leave until Sajid Khan and Noman Ali went to work for England.

    Form Guide

    (Last five completed games, most recent first)

    Australia:WLLWW
    Pakistan:LWWLL

    Spotlight: Jake Fraser-McGurk and Kamran Ghulam

    Would you like another exchange of blows? Matt Short and Jake Fraser McGurk have the chance to stake a claim to become Travis Head’s partner in the Champions Trophy. Fraser-McGurk made his international debut in the two ODIs he played against West Indies earlier this year, where he smashed 41 off 23 balls in two innings. He didn’t feature against England but will now likely play all three games in this series to showcase his ability in the longer white-ball format. Fraser-McGurk has only played one game this season, a 50-over game for South Australia, as he did not feature in the early Sheffield Shield rounds. But Pakistan have strong attacking pace and could test their technique.

    It sent Pakistan cricket into turmoil when Babar was left out after the opening Test against England but was his replacement Kamran Ghulam began in grand style with a century debut in Multan. He has a single ODI cap to his name, but that came as a concussion replacement against New Zealand last year, when he replaced Haris Sohail after Pakistan’s batting innings was over and he was not required to bowl. So a game against Australia would actually be the right start.

    Team news: Hardie included

    Cummins confirmed his first team of the season. Josh Hazlewood (Sheffield Shield) and Cooper Connolly (Australia A) are unavailable for the opening game. Lance Morris was added as a fast bowling cover. Aaron Hardie impressed in England and might have earned a slightly higher chance in the rankings.

    Australia: 1 Matt Short, 2 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Josh Inglis (Week), 5 Marnus Labuschagne, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Aaron Hardie, 8 Sean Abbott, 9 Pat Cummins (Capt), 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Adam Zampa

    Irfan Khan will make his ODI debut in the middle order while Pakistan have four fast bowlers in the front line. Mohammad Rizwan was listed at number 4

    Pakistan: 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (week), 5 Kamran Ghulam, 6 Salman Ali Agha, 7 Irfan Khan, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad Hasnain

    Place and conditions

    The pitch for the Sheffield Shield game last month helped the Quicks significantly and it is still relatively early in the season in Melbourne. A cool and cloudy day is forecast, but it is expected to remain dry.

    Statistics and interesting facts

    • Glenn Maxwell needs 66 runs to reach 4000 ODIs. Maxwell’s strike rate of 126 is far higher than any of the 20 Australian batters who have scored at least 3500 runs in ODIs, with Warner’s 97 being the next best.
    • Babar needs another century to equal Saeed Anwar’s record for most ODI hundreds for Pakistan.
    • Pakistan have beaten Australia just twice in the last 13 ODIs between the two teams, with both wins coming in a home series in 2022.
    • Overall, Australia has a winning record of 10-4 against Pakistan at the MCG

    Quotes

    “It’s a great way to start the summer. Some of the young people are seeing what they are made of as they are just starting their international careers. And in the longer term context, we have that too. The Champions Trophy is just around the corner, which always has a good connection to that.”
    Pat Cummins before the start of the home summer

    “We don’t want to prove anything. We will just play normal cricket. We will do our best to play against these guys. Yes, Australia are a good team and they are on home soil. They only have one thing: for the benefit of a home audience.”
    Mohammad Rizwan

    Andrew McGlashan is deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo

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    Idris Bevan
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