Australia’s newest opening pair have been given license to attack the new ball as captain Pat Cummins unveiled his XI for the opening game of the summer’s men’s internationals.

Former Victorian teammates Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk will open the batting together in the national colors for the first time together in their hometown of Melbourne on Monday, with Cummins also returning for his first one-day international since last year’s World Cup final triumph.

Australia’s captain skipped the UK tour in September to focus on his preparation for a packed international summer, starting with the first ODI against Pakistan at the MCG, followed by five home Tests against India and a two-Test tour in Sri Lanka .

Fraser-McGurk and Sean Abbott are the other new additions to a side that secured a 3-2 series win over England in Australia’s final one-day match in Bristol.

Australia XI vs Pakistan, first ODI: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis (week), Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Short was instrumental in deciding this series with his maiden ODI half-century in just 23 balls, while Fraser-McGurk earned a recall with Travis Head and Mitch Marsh absent on paternity leave.

Abbott also comes into the line-up as Josh Hazlewood prepares for the first Test against India on November 22 by playing for NSW in the ongoing Sheffield Shield clash against Queensland, while Cooper Connolly was part of the Australia A team representing India A defeated Mackay.

Both Hazlewood and Connolly will join the ODI squad ahead of the second game in Adelaide on Friday.

Cummins warmed up for the summer last month with a 50-over match for NSW against Victoria – his first appearance for his state in more than three years – and says he is “super fresh” after a three-month break following his stint with the United State Franchise Competition in July.

“(My) body feels like it’s not 50 years old… (I’m) really happy with how the build-up has gone, no hiccups,” the 31-year-old told reporters on the eve of the first ODI.

“I feel as good as I could be. It’s a really good way to start the summer (this ODI series).

“Aside from playing for NSW, I haven’t played for a few months. (The ODIs are) high-intensity cricket but the limit is 10 overs, which is a great way to start the summer.”

Cummins said he will play the first two games against Pakistan in Melbourne and Adelaide on Friday before deciding whether to travel to Perth for the third ODI or switch to red-ball mode.

Short and Fraser-McGurk will be Australia’s sixth different ODI opening pair in as many games after a series of injury and illness problems in England required regular juggling of the XI across the five-match series.

Since Fraser-McGurk partnered Josh Inglis in the second and third ODIs against the West Indies last February, Australia’s openers have not been the same in consecutive games.

Both Fraser-McGurk and Short are vying to partner Head in next year’s Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan, with the reigning ODI World Cup champions’ devastating powerplay a big reason for their 50-over success in the last 12 months is.

Since the start of the World Cup last year, no team has posted a higher strike rate (114.5) than Australia in the first 10 overs of men’s ODIs and Cummins’ message to his new pair is simple: “Keep it up.”

“It was quite scary to bowl against them in both the T20 and One-Day tournaments, so that is our message to them,” he said.

“I would prefer if they definitely gave it a proper try.”

Australia vs Pakistan limited series 2024

Australian ODI squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Pakistan ODI squad: Mohammad Rizwan, Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Irfan Khan, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi

November 4th: MCG, 2:30pm AEDT

November 8th: Adelaide Oval, 2:30pm AEDT

November 10th: Perth Stadium, 2:30pm AEDT

Australian T20 squad: Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Pakistan T20 Squad: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Abbas Afridi, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan.

November 14th: Gabba, 7pm AEDT

November 16th: SCG: 7pm AEDT

November 18th: Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 7pm AEDT

All matches live and exclusively on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports