The road to Champions Trophy begins: Australia welcomes Pakistan

As Australia gears up for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, they first face Pakistan in a white-ball series starting on Monday in Melbourne. 

This series includes three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 matches.

For Australia, these games are important preparation for the Champions Trophy coming up soon, with just one more match in Sri Lanka set for February. 

The team is mostly stable, but they are dealing with the retirement of David Warner after the ODI World Cup. 

Recently, they celebrated a 3-2 series win against England.

Key Players Missing

Australia will be without Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head, who are on paternity leave, and Cameron Green is sidelined with an injury.

 However, many star players will still take the field, particularly the fast bowlers, as they get ready for the upcoming Test matches.

 Captain Pat Cummins, who hasn’t played since the World Cup final, is expected to play in two of the three ODIs.

Pakistan’s Long Wait

It’s surprising that Pakistan hasn’t played any matches since the last World Cup almost a year ago. 

During this time, Babar Azam has had a rollercoaster as captain—he resigned, returned, and then resigned again. 

Now, he’s back for this tour, joined by fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, while Mohammad Rizwan will lead the team as captain for now. 

They are trying to build a strong squad for the Champions Trophy.

Coaching Changes

Pakistan also saw a coaching change; Gary Kirsten left before even coaching an ODI. 

Jason Gillespie has taken over as the interim coach for this tour. 

This gives him a chance to face his home country, but it’s unclear if he’ll get the job permanently, especially with a tour of Zimbabwe coming up soon.

Current Form

- Australia’s Last Five Matches: WLLWW

- Pakistan’s Last Five Matches: LWWLL

Players to Watch

Jake Fraser-McGurk and Kamran Ghulam are two players to keep an eye on. 

They both have a chance to show what they can do as potential partners for Travis Head in the Champions Trophy. 

Fraser-McGurk debuted earlier this year against the West Indies and performed well, scoring 41 runs in total. 

He didn’t play against England but will likely play in all three ODIs against Pakistan.

Kamran Ghulam made headlines by scoring a century on his Test debut. 

He has one ODI appearance but will be looking to make a real impact against Australia.

Team News

Cummins has announced his squad for the first match. 

Notably, Josh Hazlewood and Cooper Connolly are unavailable. 

Lance Morris has been added for fast-bowling support, and Aaron Hardie, who impressed in England, might get a chance to bat higher in the order.

Australia’s Expected Lineup:

Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steven Smith, Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Pakistan’s Expected Lineup:

1. Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha, Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain

Pitch and Weather

The pitch in Melbourne is expected to be good for fast bowlers, and the weather is forecasted to be cool and overcast but dry.

Fun Facts

- Glenn Maxwell is close to reaching 4000 ODI runs, needing just 66 more. His strike rate is impressive, significantly higher than most Australian players.

- Babar Azam needs one more century to tie the record for the most ODI hundreds by a Pakistani.

- Pakistan has only beaten Australia twice in their last 13 ODIs, with both wins happening in a home series in 2022.

- Australia has a strong record against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, winning 10 out of 14 matches.

What the captains had to say

Pat Cummins shared, "It‍‍`s a great way to kind of kick into the summer. Some of the young guys, seeing what they‍‍`re made of as they‍‍`re kind of starting out their international careers. And then in the longer-term context, we‍‍`ve got Champions Trophy coming up, which always has a good link into that."

On the other side, Mohammad Rizwan said, "We don‍‍`t want to prove anything. We‍‍`ll just play normal cricket. We will try our best to play against these guys. Yes, Australia is a good side, and they are in home conditions. Only one thing they have is the benefit of a home crowd."

As both teams prepare to face off, fans can expect an exciting series filled with competitive cricket!