Pakistan’s first bilateral ODI series in Australia in 7 years – all you need to know
Pakistan will soon start their first bilateral ODI series in Australia since 2017.
What happened the last time the rivals met in the intermediate format of the international game seven years ago?
Let’s find out.
David Warner v Hasan Ali
Australia took an early series lead in Brisbane before Pakistan hit back to level proceedings in Melbourne. But that was the tourists’ first and last win of the series, as the Aussies levelled up in Perth, Sydney and Adelaide to complete a four-one scoreline. David Warner scored the most runs in the series with 367 in five innings and Hasan Ali’s tally of 12 was the most wickets in the series.
The first-innings totals got progressively bigger from the second ODI and, at the end of the series, six centuries had been hit. Warner collected two and Travis Head, Babar Azam, Steven Smith and Matthew Wade one each. That was Wade’s first and last century in ODI cricket. He recently announced his retirement from international cricket.
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Personnel differences
Australia debuted Billy Stanlake, Chris Lynn and Peter Handscomb in ODI cricket during the series. Seven years later, Stanlake, Lynn and Handscomb’s careers have not progressed well enough for them to be deemed solid enough for selection for this series. Stanlake, in fact, has only collected six more ODI since that 2017 debut.
Pakistan won’t have coach Gary Kirsten for this series. He resigned recently, effectively forcing the Pakistan Cricket Board to push Test coach Jason Gillespie into the limited-overs role in Australia. Mohammad Rizwan, meanwhile, has succeeded Babar Azam as ODI captain. It’s pretty much all change among Pakistan’s leadership again.
Australia won’t have Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green and Head for this series. That’s quite a challenge for their batting ranks, but plenty of opportunity for Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie and others to step up. Marcus Stoinis is back in the ODI fold. He can add a lot of value with bat and ball in the absence of Green.
The bigger picture
Both teams are effectively preparing for the next Champions Trophy, which will be played early next year. Pakistan will host the competition in 2025, while Australia are the most successful team in the history of the tournament with two titles. This preceding bilateral series, then, should act as an interesting teaser for what is to come next year.
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