AUS vs PAK 2024/25, AUS vs PAK 1st ODI Match Preview

Big picture: one year gap in Pakistan amid chaos

Australia’s top-notch Test fighting comes to the fore. But before India arrives for the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the men’s international season begins with a white-ball tour of Pakistan. This includes three ODIs and T20Is each and begins in Melbourne on Monday.

For the hosts, this represents the bulk of their preparation for the Champions Trophy, with just a one-off match in Sri Lanka to follow in February. They remain largely settled in the format, barring David Warner’s retirement since the ODI World Cup, and are coming off a 3-2 victory in England in September.

Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head miss the series against Pakistan on paternity leave and Cameron Green is injured. But otherwise the main names will be exposed – at least for part of the series – as fast bowlers, in particular, continue to be managed ahead of Tests. The big three, including Pat Cummins, who remains the ODI captain even though he has not played a single match since the World Cup final, are expected to feature in two of the three matches.

Despite the waning importance of bilateral ODIs, it still seems extraordinary that Pakistan have not played a single match since their last World Cup appearance almost a year ago (the form guide below n is therefore not relevant). But don’t think for a moment 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 dropped during the Test series against England, he is back for this tour, alongside Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, while Mohammad Rizwan has been handed the captaincy – at least for this week – as they attempt to build a team that can compete in a Champions Trophy at home.

White-ball coach Gary Kirsten also left without having an ODI in his brief tenure. Jason Gillespie was handed the role on an interim basis for this tour, creating an unexpected opportunity to test himself against his home country. This may be a bit of a run-through, given no coach has been named for the Zimbabwe tour that follows, although Gillespie is unlikely to be offered the role full-time – and whether he would want to is another question entirely. A few weeks ago, however, it looked like he might be the first coach out the door, until Sajid Khan and Noman Ali got to work on England.

Form guide

(Last five matches completed, most recent first)

Australia:WLLWW
Pakistan:LWWLL

In the spotlight: Jake Fraser-McGurk and Kamran Ghulam

Want another battle? Matt runs and Jake Fraser-McGurk have a chance to claim Travis Head’s partner status at the Champions Trophy. Fraser-McGurk made his international debut in the two ODIs he played against the West Indies earlier this year, where he made 41 off 23 balls in two innings. He didn’t play against England, but he will now likely have all three matches in this series to showcase his skills in the longer white-ball format. Fraser-McGurk has played just one match this season, a 50-over outing for South Australia, after being left out of the early rounds of the Sheffield Shield. But Pakistan have a very fast attack and could refine their technique.

It caused a jolt in Pakistan cricket when Babar was omitted after the opening Test against England, but his replacement Kamran Ghulam started off in a big way with a century debut in Multan. He has only one ODI cap to his name, but that came as a replacement for a concussion against New Zealand last year when he replaced Haris Sohail once the innings was in the batting Pakistan finished, and he was not required to bowl. So, indeed, a match against Australia would be a good start.

Team News: Hardie included

Cummins has confirmed his first team of the season. Josh Hazlewood (Sheffield Shield) and Cooper Connolly (Australia A) are unavailable for the opening match. Lance Morris was added as fast bowling cover. Aaron Hardie has impressed in England and may have earned an opportunity slightly higher up the order.

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 (captain), 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Adam Zampa

Irfan Khan will make his ODI debut in the middle order while Pakistan has four frontline fast bowlers. Mohammad Rizwan was ranked no.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

Location and conditions

The pitch for the Sheffield Shield match last month provided considerable help for the quicks, and it is still relatively early in the season in Melbourne. The forecast calls for a cool and cloudy day, but it should remain dry.

Statistics and anecdotes

Glenn Maxwell needs 66 runs to reach 4000 in ODIs. Maxwell’s strike rate of 126 is far higher than any of the 20 Australian batters to have scored at least 3,500 runs in ODIs, with Warner’s 97 being the second best.
Babar needs one more century to equal Saeed Anwar’s record for most ODI hundreds for Pakistan.
Pakistan have beaten Australia only twice in the last 13 ODIs between the two teams, with both victories coming in a home series in 2022.
Overall, Australia are 10-4 against Pakistan at the MCG

Quotes

“It’s a great way to start the summer. Some young people, seeing what they’re made of as they kind of start their international careers. And then, in a longer term context, we have I the Champions Trophy coming up, which always has a good link with that.”
Patrick Cummins before the start of summer at home

“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 at home. Just one thing they have , it’s the benefit of a local audience.”
Mohammad Rizwan

Andrew McGlashan is deputy editor at PK Press Club