That’s all for tonight. Thanks for your company, see you soon.
Pat Cummins’ verdict
I always prefer sitting in the changing-room but yeah, we got it done. It got a bit tighter than we’d have liked. I was really happy with the way the guys bowled; everyone played their really beautifully and to keep them to 203 was a great effort.
We were really good for three-quarters of the runchase. We try to be aggressive with the bat and that won’t always come off. But I think there’s still room to build a couple of partnerships.
Steve Smith’s reaction
They bowled alright in the middle there. They went quite short with the long boundaries – we kept taking it on and kept failing! Patty played nicely and Sabba [Sean Abbott] played pretty well before a bit of a brainfade. It’s good to get over the line.
It wasn’t the easiest wicket to bat on. Some balls were stopping in the wicket and others were skidding on nicely. The bounce was a bit variable at times. But I felt good out there. I felt like I was balanced and moving well.
I think Patty has his eyes done recently so they’re obviously working well.
What a terrific game that was. Australia were cruising at 113 for 2 before Haris Rauf found his way into the zone. He took three quick wickets to help reduce Australia to 159 for 7. At that stage Pakistan were slight favourites, but Pat Cummins batted with such authority to get Australia over the line.
Australia win by two wickets!
33.3 overs: Australia 204-8 (Cummins 32, Starc 2) Pat Cummins has done it again! He thumps Hasnain down the ground for four to bring the scores level before forcing the winning run past backward point.
Cummins finishes on 32 not out from 31 balls, another masterclass in lower-order finishing. Since the start of the 2023 Ashes, across all formats, he has scored 134 runs in successful Australian runchases without being dismissed. He’s the new Michael Bevan!
33rd over: Australia 199-8 (Cummins 27, Starc 2) Rauf looks shattered, understandably after bowlign nine of the last 21 overs. Australia settle for a couple of easy singles, which brings the target down to five – and Cummins is on strike.
32nd over: Australia 197-8 (Cummins 26, Starc 1) Starc slashes a single off the last ball. Seven to win, Haris Rauf to bowl. It’s now or never.
Updated
31.2 overs: Australia 196-8 (Cummins 26, Starc 0) Naseem Shah bowls two balls to Starc but then limps off with cramp. Mohammad Hasnain will complete the over.
31st over: Australia 196-8 (Cummins 26, Starc 0) Cummins slaps a short ball for Rauf for four; then, after a bouncer is called wide, he looped a couple more over backward point. Twelve to win. Eight to win because Cummins has just driven an imperious boundary over extra cover. That’s a helluva shot.
Cummins is fast developing a reputation as one of the great lower-order finishers. He’s no Lance Klusener, admittedly, but his coolness and clarity under pressure are pretty remarkable.
Updated
30th over: Australia 185-8 (Cummins 16, Starc 0) Starc survives the last two balls from Shaheen Afridi, who finishes a fine spell with figures of 10-0-43-2. Nineteen to win.
WICKET! Australia 185-8 (Abbott run out 13)
Another twist in this pulsating game! The non-striker Abbott was called through for a third run off Afridi, who collected a throw from the deep and demolished the stumps at the striker’s end! Abbott, who looked reluctant to go for a third, wasn’t sprinting and got a very nasty surprise.
29th over: Australia 181-7 (Abbott 13, Cummins 12) The dangerman Haris Rauf returns after a short break, perhaps too short. I guess Pakistan have no choice.
Cummins survives a run-out chance after being sent back by Abbott. He was barely in the frame when Haris collected in his follow through, turned and threw this far wide of the stumps at the non-striker’s end.
Abbott clips the next ball just short of midwicket, then jumps across to work a precious boundary to fine leg. Suddenly Australia only need 23.
28th over: Australia 173-7 (Abbott 6, Cummins 11) Shaheen Afridi, who has two overs left, replaces Hasnain. Cummins smiles after a terrific bouncer zips past his right shoulder, and he and Abbott are content with three low-risk singles.
Updated
27th over: Australia 170-7 (Abbott 4, Cummins 10) Pakistan have decided to pepper the lower order, and so far it isn’t working. Naseem bowls two more wides before he finds his length and drives Cummins back with some good short balls. The silly point – it’s Kamran Ghulam – is still rabbiting on in an attempt to drag Cummins out of his bubble. Good luck with that.
Time for drinks. Australia need 34 runs to win a memorable ODI.
Updated
26th over: Australia 167-7 (Abbott 3, Cummins 10) Cummins’ batting usually goes to another level in tense situations: Birmingham, Mumbai, Christchurch, even his debut in Johannesburg.
Cummins forces his first ball superbly through backward point for four, then gets a bit of a luck when an inside-edge whooshes past leg stump. A couple of short balls are called wide and then Cummins drags a pair of twos into the leg side. Not sure Pakistan can risk another over from Hasnain; he took an important wicket but also conceded 12 from the over.
In other news, that 40 from Naseem Shah looks ever more valuable. Australia need 37 to win.
Updated
WICKET! Australia 155-7 (Hardie b Hasnain 10)
Pakistan are three wickets away from an immense victory! Hardie backs away to cut Hasnain, misses and is cleaned up. For the umpteenth time in the last couple of years, Pat Cummins walks to the wicket just as the clock hits squeaky-bum time.
25th over: Australia 155-6 (Hardie 10, Abbott 3) After squeezing down some energy gel, Naseem Shah takes over from Haris Rauf. Abbott is beaten, trying to pull, then fences a short ball through the vacant short leg region.
24th over: Australia 154-6 (Hardie 9, Abbott 3) Mohammad Hasnain replaces Afridi, who has two overs remaining. Hardie is hit on the back thigh by a good nipbacker. The bowler doesn’t appeal for LBW, then starts jumping around when he realises Rizwan has gone up. Pakistan ventually decide against a review, rightly so: it was bouncing over the top.
Australia need 50 from 26. Overs, not balls.
23rd over: Australia 151-6 (Hardie 6, Abbott 3) Pakistan are full of the joys of haal. The man at silly point, not sure who it is, is chirping incessantly in a peculiar high-pitched squeak.
Haris takes a brief time out after falling over in his delivery stride three times in a row. I think he scraped his left knee but he’s okay. That said, he probably needs a breather after a scorching six-over spell.
“Am I right in thinking that this is an unusually old Australian team, especially in its bowling?” says Gary Naylor. “After India’s shellacking at the hands of New Zealand, it does feel a bit like some of the familiar faces that have been at the heart of cricket may be on the way out. I suspect England might just be ahead of the curve a little by going very young, very early. Though there’s nothing like small sample spaces to provoke a little confirmation bias.”
The probable XI for the first Test against India includes ten thirtysomethings. Then again, Australia have often had successful older teams; the one that marmalised England in 2006-07 had an average age of about 50. England’s advantage, in the short term, might be that their best players are a year or two younger than Australia’s and India’s.
Updated
22nd over: Australia 148-6 (Hardie 5, Abbott 2) Rizwan may as well bowl his three senior quick bowlers out, because this game isn’t going much beyond the 34th over (Hasnain has bowled four).
Shaheen’s eighth over is a quiet affair, including five consecutive dot balls to Hardie.
21st over: Australia 147-6 (Hardie 5, Abbott 1) Two big moments of fortune for Aaron Hardie! He fences Rauf just short of backward point, then edges a cut that flashes past the leaping Rizwan and away for four.
Australia were strolling to victory at 113 for 2 and 139 for 3; now they’re ina desperate fight for survival. Only Pakistan.
20.3 overs: Australia 140-6 (Hardie 0, Abbott 0) The hat-trick ball is too straight and clipped for a single by Abbott. Rauf put so much effort into it that he fell over, Mark Wood-style, then slapped the ground in frustration.
WICKET! Australia 139-6 (Maxwell c Rizwan b Rauf 0)
Pakistan are in cornered tigers mode! Glenn Maxwell goes first ball, touching a seriously hot, back-of-a-length delivery from Haris Rauf through to Mohammad Rizwan. Only Pakistan can do this.
Updated
WICKET! Australia 139-5 (Labuschagne c Irfan b Rauf 16)
Now then! Labuschagne gets in two minds and deflects a short ball from Rauf all the way down to third man, where Irfan Khan slides forward to take another good catch. It’s his third of the innings and his second in the last four balls!
Marnus is OUT!
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) November 4, 2024
📺 Watch #AUSvPAK on Ch. 501 or stream via Kayo https://t.co/sOOmnqnKOT
📝 BLOG https://t.co/dPjvyGuj9u
📲 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/3mkl3QUBLD pic.twitter.com/7z86vtkeob
Updated
20th over: Australia 139-4 (Labuschagne 16, Hardie 0) Australia still have plenty of batting to come, including Glenn Maxwell. Even so, another quick wicket would make things interesting.
WICKET! Australia 139-4 (Inglis c Irfan b Afridi 49)
A fantastic catch from Irfan Khan at deep midwicket! Inglis has pulled the previous ball for six – Irfan palmed it back into play quite brilliantly but stood on the boundary sponge before jumping – and tried to reach his fifty with a similar stroke. Irfan charged round the boundary and reached forward to take a terrific two-handed catch.
19th over: Australia 130-3 (Inglis 41, Labuschagne 15) Labuschagne squirts Rauf for three to move to 15 from 11 balls. He’s often Australia’s shepherd at No5, guiding them to a target after a flying start from the top four, but today he’s playing with a breezy freedom.
18th over: Australia 123-3 (Inglis 40, Labuschagne 9) Pakistan’s body language suggests they believe they can still win this, which depending on your perspective is either admirable or denialistic. Is that a word? It is now!
Labuschagne moves Pakistan closer to defeat by driving Afridi expertly to the long-off boundary.
17th over: Australia 117-3 (Inglis 38, Labuschagne 4) Labuschagne gets off the mark by uppercutting Rauf over slip for four. Rauf is frustrated but it was a safe shot once Labuschagne got under the ball.
Australia need 87 from 198 balls.
WICKET! Australia 113-3 (Smith c Saim b Rauf 44)
Steve Smith is furious with himself. He was playing superbly, almost flawlessly, until suddenly he slapped a short ball straight to backward point. Saim Ayub took a smart catch, his second of the innings. Smith knows he’s left a few runs out there; even so, the certainty of his strokeplay is a good sign for the summer ahead.
Updated
16th over: Australia 107-2 (Smith 40, Inglis 38) Shaheen Shah Afridi returns after the drinks break. He goes around the wicket to Inglis, who wallops a drive that is well stopped at extra cover. Two from the over; Shaheen has been the pick of the Pakistan bowlers.
Drinks
Australia need 99 from 35 overs, and they might just do it.
15th over: Australia 105-2 (Smith 39, Inglis 37) Inglis edges straight between the keeper and a widish slip for four. An affronted Haris Rauf spears the next ball down the leg side for five wides. This is getting away from Pakistan in a hurry; in the commentary box attention has turned to whether Josh Inglis will/should open the batting in the Test series against India.
Nathan McSweeney is in pole position but you can understand the excitement around Inglis. I would probably keep him as the next middle-order cab off the rank; asking him to learn a new position against Jasprit Bumrah feels more than a little risky.
Updated
14th over: Australia 93-2 (Smith 37, Inglis 32) Smith pays tribute to that Inglis with an almost identical boundary off Hasnain, whose fourth over disappears for 15. Inglis hooks very fine for six before cuffing a short ball disdainfully over midwicket for four. After a slightly awkward start against Naseem Shah, Inglis is flying: 10 from the first 19 balls, 22 from the next 8.
13th over: Australia 78-2 (Smith 32, Inglis 22) Haris Rauf replaces Naseem Shah, who bowled more menacingly than figures of 5-0-35-1 might suggest. After Smith edges a good ball wide of slip for a single, Inglis threads a superb drive between extra cover and mid off for four. He attacks with such authority.
Updated
12th over: Australia 72-2 (Smith 31, Inglis 17) The box seat is never entirely comfortable against Pakistan, whose fast bowlers can run amok at a moment’s notice, but right now Australia look in control of this chase. Smith turns Hasnain behind square for a couple to move into the thirties.
11th over: Australia 68-2 (Smith 28, Inglis 16) Naseem continues hunting for wickets; there’s no point saving his overs because the game will be done if Pakistan don’t get a couple more very quickly. Inglis pushes at another sharp lifter and then thinks better of it; that probably still does down as a play and miss.
Inglis, tired of being a bit of a punchbag, fetches a short ball from outside off stump and over midwicket for a big six. Shot!
Updated
10th over: Australia 61-2 (Smith 27, Inglis 10) When Steve Smith’s hands and eyes are perfectly in sync, bowling to him feels like the definition of futility. Saying which, he almost runs himself out with a very tight single to mid-on; it would have been Spandex-tight with a direct hit.
“Shout out to my son Josh, who’s at the game,” says Rob Lewis. He’s been living Down Under for two years, and he still clings on to his support for England. I hope and pray it continues!”
Next year’s Ashes just got even bigger!
9th over: Australia 59-2 (Smith 26, Inglis 9) Inglis is dropped off Naseem Shah, who has changed ends to replace Shaheen. He was startled by a brutish lifter and could only fence the ball towards gully, where Irfan Khan dived high to his right and tipped it over the bar.
Batting looks pretty tricky out there – except for Steve Smith, who lashes another majestic boundary through point. He has 26 from 21 balls.
Updated
8th over: Australia 54-2 (Smith 22, Inglis 8) Steve Smith is the perfect man, and I say this with love, to suck the jeopardy out of the run-chase. He drives the new bowler Mohammad Hasnain beautifully down the ground for four, just to the right of the stumps at the non-striker’s end, and is starting to look a bit ominous for Pakistan. An emphatic pull for four more takes him to 22 from 18 balls.
Updated
7th over: Australia 45-2 (Smith 14, Inglis 7) Shaheen continues to swing the ball back into the right-handers; nothing lavish but enough to make the batters wary of anything straight. Just three runs from the over.
6th over: Australia 42-2 (Smith 12, Inglis 6) Josh Inglis was in great form in the Sheffield Shield, making centuries in both games last month. After missing one attempted cut off Naseem, he nails the stroke past cover point for four.
It’s high-octane stuff out there. Australia are still strong favourites but Pakistan are aggressively protecting an under-par score as only they can.
5th over: Australia 36-2 (Smith 12, Inglis 1) Pakistan are on one. Smith is hit on the glove by a nasty lifter from Shaheen, who then has an LBW appeal turned down when Smith plays across a good delivery. It was too high and would have missed off, but it will enhance Pakistan’s belief that something is happening.
Smith does not share that view and moves into double figures with a smooth pull round the corner for four.
4th over: Australia 28-2 (Smith 5, Inglis 0) That was the last ball of the over.
Updated
WICKET! Australia 28-2 (Fraser-McGurk c Irfan b Naseem 16)
Fraser-McGurk cloths Naseem Shah straight to mid-on. He’s been teasing the fielders, mistiming shots all over the place, but this time he picked out Irfan Khan. Fraser-McGurk goes for 16 from 14 balls; while he’s the definition of box office, you can argue that that was a pretty ugly innings, unbecoming of somebody with his talent. He basically tried to hit every ball for four or six.
Australia are already two wickets down!
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) November 4, 2024
📺 Watch #AUSvPAK on Ch. 501 or stream via Kayo https://t.co/sOOmnqnKOT
📝 BLOG https://t.co/dPjvyGuj9u
📲 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/3mkl3QUBLD pic.twitter.com/nfsIXaJ50V
Updated
3rd over: Australia 21-1 (Fraser-McGurk 13, Smith 2) Steve Smith gets off the mark with a confident hook for two. Pakistan are hunting wickets, knowing that’s the only way they can win this game.
WICKET! Australia 19-1 (Short c Saim b Afridi 1)
An early breakthrough for Pakistan. Short tries to pull Afridi, a shot that is usually so profitable, but the ball is angled across and he top-edges it towards third man. Three men converge and Saim Ayub, running back from inside the circle, takes a terrific catch over his shoulder.
2nd over: Australia 18-0 (Short 1, Fraser-McGurk 12) Strap in, folks, Jake Fraser-McGurk is batting. He drives Naseem Shah’s first ball high over mid-off, but doesn’t time it properly and almost gives a catch to Babar Azam. Babar charged desperately towards the boundary and couldn’t quite get there.
An extravagant chip over mid-off teases the fielder before landing safely for a couple more runs, then Fraser-McGurk launches an emphatic first boundary over wide mid-on. Four leg-byes and a quick single complete a very profitable over, 14 from it.
Updated
1st over: Australia 4-0 (Short 1, Fraser-McGurk 3) There’s some early inswing to the right-handers for Shaheen, but he’s a bit too straight and that allows both openers to get off the mark with clips to leg. A quiet start.
The players are back on the field. Shaheen Shah Afridi is about to open the bowling to Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk, and I would suggest a maiden over is unlikely.
Updated
Thanks Angus, afternoon everyone. We should probably have expected this. Pakistan have a wretched recent ODI record both against and in Australia: they’ve won only 8 of the last 40 games between the sides. And it’s likely to become 8 from 41 despite the infectious defiance of Naseem Shah, who smashed four sixes from No9 to take Pakistan past 200.
Even so, the last time Australia failed to chase a target of 204 or less at home* was against New Zealand in January 2002, when Steve Waugh was starting his last month as white-ball captain, Mulholland Drive was scaring the bejesus out of cinemaphiles and a love was burning inside Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. It was a lifetime ago.
* Barring a DLS game in 2007 when they were chasing 186 from 27 overs, which doesn’t count.
ALL OUT!
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) November 4, 2024
Australia is chasing a 204-run target for victory following a tentative batting effort from Pakistan at the MCG.
LIVE 👉 https://t.co/dPjvyGuQZ2#AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/VnLlDkf3tf
Updated
Pakistan all out 203 in 46.4 overs
The visitors did well to smash, grab and scamper their way to 200 in the end but this first ODI is still very much Australia’s game to lose. Their bowlers were relentless, with Mitchell Starc the pick, finishing with 3-33. Pat Cummins chimed in with 2-39 and Adam Zampa returned 2-69, including the key wicket of Babar Azam, a victory soured somewhat by the late stick he copped from No 8 Naseem Shah who whacked a valuable 40 from 39 balls. Pakistan’s top order crumpled like a cheap suit and it was left to their middle order and tail to salvage some pride. But will 203 runs be enough against an Australian wrecking crew featuring Glenn Maxwell and Jake Fraser-McGurk? Join Rob Smyth after the dinner break to find out.
WICKET! Pakistan 203-10 (Naseem c Starc b Cummins 40)
Cummins finishes it! Pakistan had fought hard to get to 200 thanks to Naseem’s fireworks but they flopped over the line with nothing left. After all that masterful blasting it’s a slower ball that undoes Naseem. He misjudges the drive and pops a simple catch to Starc at midoff to finish the Pakistan innings.
46th over: Pakistan 203-9 (Naseem 40, Hasnain 1) Zampa comes back to deliver the coup de grace. Or does he? Naseem won’t go down with a whimper. He takes a single from the first and exposes No 11 Hasnain. But the bunny gets a runny and WHAM! Naseem plunders Zampa’ next ball, sending it over the long on fence. SIX! Fifth ball is wider and has more fizz on it but Naseem doesn’t care. He dances out of his crease again and and lofts it over cover for FOUR. Nice batting Naseem. And what a way to finish the over as Naseem swings through the line and sends it dead straight for another SIX!
Updated
45th over: Pakistan 184-9 (Naseem 23, Hasnain 0) Glenn Maxwell whirls through an over and Naseem picks off a single. Can Pakistan make 200?
44th over: Pakistan 183-9 (Naseem 23, Hasnain 0) Big appeal by Australia. Zampa shot it through quick on new batter, No 11 Mohammad Hasnain, who pushed forward and missed. It’s a good shout but umpire says no. Cummins disagrees and opts to review. Yes it’s inline but original decision will stand.
WICKET! Pakistan 183-9 (Haris Rauf b Zampa 0)
RIP Mister Rauf! That was foolhardy stuff with six overs left to bat. Instead the youngster tried to whip a straight ball zooter through midwicket and missed.
43rd over: Pakistan 182-8 (Naseem 14, Rauf 0) Maxwell is taken downtown! That’s a lovely six from Naseem who skipped down and merrily plonked it a few rows into the grandstand down the ground. Haris Rauf is the new batter. He has 65 runs from his 15 ODIs for Pakistan but at least they’ve come at a strike-rate of 85.55.
WICKET! Pakistan 175-8 (Irfan run out Short/ Maxwell 22)
Terrible mix-up from the Pakistan batters and Irfan is gone. He played a smart reverse swat to Maxwell’s first delivery and it looked an easy single but the youngster hesitated for a second and slipped. The Matt Short throw to Maxwell was quick and flat – too quick for Irfan. Out!
Updated
42nd over: Pakistan 175-7 (Irfan 22, Naseem 14) Despite being off the pace all day, Pakistan have scrambled themselves within sight of 200. If they can get there, or beyond, who knows? They have a long tail for batting but that means it carries a sting when it comes to bowling. Will the absence of big hitters Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh – both of whom are on paternity leave – come back to haunt Australia in their run chase? Abbott puts the clamps on in his eighth over – just three singles from it
41st over: Pakistan 172-7 (Irfan 20, Naseem 13) As Pat Cummins rolls in for his ninth over and Paistan’s plucy tailenders hang in there with some stubborn resistance, Simon Chance gets in touch via email to mourn the dearth of coverage on free-to-air television for this series which runs solely on Foxtel and Kayo:
Hi Angus, what a pity CA have gone behind the paywall with one day international cricket mens games played in Australia. There cannot be a swifter way to kill interest in the game – as the Rah Rah Rugby Union boys have found out. If they can’t be bothered making it available on free to air then I cannot be bothered with it at all.
40th over: Pakistan 169-7 (Irfan 18, Naseem 12) Sean Abbott’s first ball in his seventh over is a no-ball and it gifts Naseem a free hit. What can he do with it? Abbott angrily hurls it down short but it’s a slower ball and Naseem has the rhythm to meet it on the up. SIX! Lovely shot by the youngster – that’s gone 85-metres on the fly over midwicket. That’s his first six for Pakistan in one-day internationals and it’s a beauty.
39th over: Pakistan 159-7 (Irfan 17, Naseem 5) Pat Cummins is back into the attack for an eighth over. Irfan wafts at the second ball and almost edges. There’s more timber on the third and he gets a single square of the wicket. Naseem gets one as well, fending to gully. Cumminss tries to dig the final ball in short but Irfan picks the gauntlet up and return it with interest, slapping a stabbing pull over midwicket for a boundary.
38th over: Pakistan 153-7 (Irfan 11, Naseem 3) Naseem Shah is the new batter and he sees out the Starc over to leave the big quick with the excellent figures of 3-33 from 10 overs. Now Zampa has the new batter on strike but Naseem is equal to the task. he takes two and then a single to hang onto strike.
WICKET! Pakistan 148-7 (Shaheen b Starc 24)
Stumps akimbo! Having blasted 24 from 19 balls, Shaheen wanted another boundary and Starc was savvy to the threat. The Australian went full and straight, swung it slightly across the line and it went through Shaheen like a dose of salts, sending the timber flying. That’s three wickets for Mitchell Starc today.
Updated
37th over: Pakistan 148-6 (Shaheen 20, Irfan 11) Mitchell Starc enter his final over…. and Shaheen shows him the exit, lifting it over mid-off for another FOUR. Good batting by the Pakistan veteran. How will Starc repond?
Updated
36th over: Pakistan 144-6 (Shaheen 20, Irfan 11) That one is up… and OVER! Zampa tossed it up to Shaheen Shah Afridi skipped out and took him downtown for SIX! And the veteran No 8 does it again to the fifth delivery, moving his feet and giving it a big whack to the rope for FOUR. Good over for Pakistan – 10 runs from it.
35th over: Pakistan 130-6 (Shaheen 7, Irfan 10) Australia want a quick finish. They have brought back Starc for a final blast. Shaheen takes a quick single from the first but balls two and three are wide. Irfan connec ts handsomely with the fifth which was full and straight and right in the batter’s slot. He sweep it sweetly backward of square.
34th over: Pakistan 128-6 (Shaheen 6, Irfan 9) Zampa is back… and after four neat balls Zampa is GONE! as Irfan sweeps cleanly to the fine leg boundary.
33rd over: Pakistan 124-6 (Shaheen 6, Irfan 5) Ah, the ignominy of falling to Marnus. Rizwan had 44 and was within one shot of a half-century. But he blundered into Cummins’ trap and tried to double-dip on the mercurial part-time spinner. Normal service has resumed now as Hardie works through his fopurth over. And WHACK! goes new batter Shaheen Shah Afridi who bullets a lofted drive over Hardie’s head and over the fence!
Updated
WICKET! Pakistan 117-6 (Rizwan c Inglis b Labuschagne 44)
Marnus magic at the MCG! Having rolled the dice and bowled a couple of wildcards in Matt Short and Glenn Maxwell Cummins looked to have regained his senses by turning to Aaron Hardie. Instead he flipped out the ultimate Joker and it’s worked! Rizwa’s eyes lit up at Australia’s No 3 batter coming on to bowl and carted him for four. But Labuschagne had the last laugh one ball later. Rizwan leapt out to sweep it again and only succeeded in getting a top edge and Inglis took a great running catch. Pakistan’s captain is gone!
Updated
31st over: Pakistan 116-5 (Rizwan 40, Irfan 3) Aaron Hardie gets another over after his brief spell this morning. Rizwan slaps him over mid-on for four. That’s more like it!
Updated
30th over: Pakistan 108-5 (Rizwan 36, Irfan 3) Having bowled Matt Short for an over, Cummin has played another wildcard. It will be Glenn Maxwell into the attack. Heavily bearded and bristling with energy, the lithe allrounder flings down a mixed bag but makes the batters use their feet. The Big Show gets worked for a couple of Small Singles to long on but that’s it.
29th over: Pakistan 105-5 (Rizwan 34, Irfan 2) With the arrival of Khan, Pakistan are into their long tail. Abbott can smell bunnies on the breeze and tightens his line after a couple of hasty yet risky singles from each batter. There’s a half cry on the final delivery. Has he snicked it? Australia seemed confident but Cummins shot a review down fast. Good decision by Captain pat (and the umpire) as Snicko shows nothing but air.
28th over: Pakistan 103-5 (Rizwan 32, Irfan 1 ) As reward for his sharp catch in the last over Matt Short has been given a bowl. He whips through four fizzing deliveries before Rizwan works a single. New batter Irfan Khan gets off the mark from the last ball.
WICKET! Pakistan 101-5 (Salman c Short b Abbott 12)
Partnership broken! Pakistan were trying to turbo boost the innings and Abbott sensed the moment and threw in an effort ball. It fell short, exploded off the pitch and rushed at Salman’s salivating lips. He swiped at it but didn’t get much timber on it and it chipped up for Matt Short at midwicket. Australia strike for the fifth time.
27th over: Pakistan 101-4 (Rizwan 32, Salman 12) Abbott draws a massive top edge from Rizwan and it’s up, up, up… but safe! That was luck for Pakistan. Wicketkeeper Inglis and the boundary rider Starc hesitated just enough to let the ball drop between them. Pakistan are upping the ante now but it’s high risk cricket.
26th over: Pakistan 96-4 (Rizwan 29, Salman 11) That was an awesome shot by Rizwan off Starc, leaning back to a fast ball and smashing it over the fence. Rizwan has now got himself to 28 at a strike-rate a tick over 50. Not great but Pakistan will take it. He knows Pakistan are halfway through their overs and only a third of the way to a competitive score. Now Salman gets the signal, swatting Adam Zampa behind square for a boundary. Good batting Pakistan!
Updated
25th over: Pakistan 90-4 (Rizwan 28, Salman 6) The pickle has worked its magic! Mitchell Starc is back on the field and running in for his eighth over. The crowd are still coming in here at the MCG – tough to judge numbers in so cavernous a stadium but looks a healthy crowd with clumps of support for both sides. Rizwan takes a single through square leg but Rizwan does better – much better! – swiping the final ball for SIX!
24th over: Pakistan 81-4 (Rizwan 21, Salman 4) As Starc takes a slug of pickle pinot gris, Zampa looks fresh as a daisy, flipping and fizzing them at an increasingly befuddled Pakistan. Salman fends off the first three then panics, chipping it to mid-on and attempting a run. He gets halfway down the pitch before Rizwan declines his offer and sends him back. Finally Salman gets his single and Rizwan does too from the last.
23rd over: Pakistan 76-4 (Rizwan 19, Salman 1) Australia are going for the throat – or is that the soft belly of the middle order? They bring back Starc and he delivers a maiden. Although he’s pulled up sore and is now jogging off the field. Hopefully a cramp and not a more serious injury. Will they call for the pickle juice? It’s worked for him before…
Updated
22nd over: Pakistan 76-4 (Rizwan 19, Salman 1) Zampa’s threat is such that Rizwan knows he’s got to attack or perish. He slog sweeps two and gets away with it, then sneaks a single. Salman follows suit and Pakistan have four runs from the over. That’s better for the visitors nearing the halfway point of this innings.
21st over: Pakistan 72-4 (Rizwan 16, Salman 0) Cummins turns the screws on Pakistan. Rizwan scampers a single but Salman can’t find a run for the rest of the over. The Australian skipper has 28-1 from his seven overs so far, with one miserly maiden.
20th over: Pakistan 70-4 (Rizwan 15, Salman 0) Zampa bowls a masterly maiden to the new batter Salman Agha.
Updated
19th over: Pakistan 70-4 (Rizwan 11, Salman 0) That was superb bowling by Cummins and after lulling Pakistan into confidence by giving them three easy singles, he pulled out a grenade on the last and got his team a wicket with a perfectly-directed bouncer.
WICKET! Pakistan 70-4 (Kamrain c Inglis b Cummins 4)
Cummins strikes! This time it’s the new batter Kamran Ghulam who has 11 brothers and six sisters and came out batting like a man who fought for everything he’s got. But he was too boisterous, and Cummins pushed him onto the back foot with a bouncer and Ghulam flinched and fended, succeeding only in gloving it to Inglis. Pakistan in trouble!
18th over: Pakistan 67-3 (Rizwan 11, Kamran 4) The lethal leggie enters this game with 177 wickets from his 103 ODIs and he struck with his first over. Great bowling by Zampa and smart captaincy by Cummins to bring him in with the game in the balance. New batter is Kamran Ghulam and he dances down the wicket to his second delivery and spiflicates Zampa down the ground past mid-off for a sweet boundary.
Updated
WICKET! Pakistan 63-3 (Babar b Zampa 37)
Come in spinner! Adam Zampa strikes with the fourth ball of his first over! Having puffed and primped his blonde mullet to perfection, Zampa deceives the dangerman Babar who thought he was getting a conventional leg spinner and instead got a flipper. It skidded straight through his defences and snuck under the bat to take his off-stump.
17th over: Pakistan 62-2 (Rizwan 11, Babar 37) Pat Cummins has had a drink and, feeling revived, returned himself to the attack. Rizwan drives the first ball unconvincingly down the ground and gets a single. Babar fends the second delivery into slips but can’t split them. He goes squarer to the fourth Cummins ball and does better, running an easy single. Cummins sprays a full toss at him and Rizwan is too shocked to punish it. Instead he works the final ball through a now-vacant cordon for a single to keep strike.
16th over: Pakistan 59-2 (Rizwan 9, Babar 36) Abbott enters his fourth over in his 25th ODI for Australia. Since debuting for New South Wales at the age of 18 and winning the Steve Waugh Medal as NSW player of the season with 27 wickets, Abbott has struggled a to reach his potential. Babar knows it too. Having watched Abbott fumble a couple of balls in the outfield, he applies even more pressure on the 32-year-old with a thumping square cut over backward point. That’s a much-needed boundary for Pakistan.
15th over: Pakistan 51-2 (Rizwan 7, Babar 31) Hardie has started well here, zeroing in on a nagging length and hitting it consistently. He leaks two singles but Australia remain on top at the MCG.
14th over: Pakistan 49-2 (Rizwan 6, Babar 30) Babar is leading the Pakistan comeback after the loss of those two early wickets. But the going is tough. Australia have bowled tight lines and Rizwan, normally a dasher, has only five from 20 and is still struggling to find his touch. They eke a single from the final ball of Abbott’s third over but the run rate is running at a trickle and stands at just over three-per-over.
13th over: Pakistan 47-2 (Rizwan 5, Babar 29) Starc is off and Aaron Hardie is on for Australia. Hardie is a big man, standing over 190cm and as broad as he is tall. Bowls a good wobble seam does Hardie. He beats Babar with it on his second delivery but Babar hits back with the next ball, flicking Hardie off the pads for a fast-run two. Hardie was born in the UK but grew up in Western Australia and has clearly adopted the diet preferred by Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh. This is the big unit’s ninth ODI for his country and his first over today is a good one, just two from it.
12th over: Pakistan 45-2 (Rizwan 5, Babar 27) Sean Abbott is into his second over after leaking three runs from his first. Big appeal to the second delivery! Did it catch the edge? Abbott seems confident but Australia’s close fielders think not and there’s no review. Abbott is into the mid-130kph range but Babar works him through deep square for a single to retain strike.
11th over: Pakistan 43-2 (Rizwan 4, Babar 26) Starc is back for another and Rizwan then Babar takes him for singles. They do it again from the next two deliveries. Finally, having done it in singles from fopur hots, Babar achieves the same dividend with a single shot, pulling a short ball through midwicket. Beautiful shot!
10th over: Pakistan 35-2 (Rizwan 2, Babar 20) Here’s the bowling change we forecast: Sean Abbott replaces Pat Cummins and he’s bowling to Rizwan who is still on zero. And it’s almost a runout! The ball was full outside off, drives to cover and Babar took off despite the fielder being Marnus Labuschagne. He lunges and loops the ball at the stumps but misses as Rizwan dives. A direct hit would have had him there. Finally Rizwan gets off the mark with a weird slice that squeaks into covers for two.
Updated
9th over: Pakistan 32-2 (Rizwan 0, Babar 19) Starc is into his fifth over now. His pace is rising and he has two wickets in his kitbag so the big man’s superb record against Pakistan is continuing today. He has new batter Rizwan on strike and thumps it into his gloves. Starc puts the next one wide. He knows Rizwan hasn’t scored from seven balls so far and is trying to tempt a wild slash. No dice this time but it’s another Starc maiden.
Updated
8th over: Pakistan 32-2 (Rizwan 0, Babar 19) Babar cracks Cummins for four! Great shot by Pakistan’s 117-ODI veteran. Captain Pat might have to consider taking a breather here. He went for 10 off his last over and now he’s been spanked through midwicket with vim. Pat gets his radar right on the next few but goes short and straight on the final throw of the dice and Babar steps out to smack it down the ground. Another four!
7th over: Pakistan 24-2 (Rizwan 0, Babar 11) Starc’s first ball is full but a tad wide of off stump and Abdullah meets it on the up, driving handsomely. Abbott manages to collar that one but Pakistan steal another two runs. Starc’s wicket with his fourth ball has brought Mohammad Rizwan to the crease and he sees off the final two deliveries.
WICKET! Pakistan 24-2 (Shafique c Inglis b Starc 12)
Short and sweet from Starc! He pitched it up at Shafique who had battled to 12 from 26 balls. The batter tried to get out of the ball’s path but dropped his hands too late and it clipped the top edge on the way through and Inglis pouched an easy chance.
Updated
6th over: Pakistan 22-1 (Abdullah 10, Babar 11) Another misfield from Abbott! Babar drove Cummins into the offside and Abbott slid to meet it on the bounce but lost sight of it somehow and Babar ran two when he should’ve been reduced to a single. Now Babar slides one to fine leg for a single. Now Cummin s drops short to Abdullah Shafique and BANG! He rocks back and bashes it down the ground for Pakistan’s first boundary of the day. Grteat counter attack from Pakistan. And now they show finesse, Abdullah clipping off his ankles to steal another two runs through midwicket. A single from the last gives Pakiustan a 10-run over and Pat Cummins plenty of food for thought.
Updated
5th over: Pakistan 12-1 (Abdullah 3, Babar 8) Babar lashes at that one! Great statement of intent from the Pakistani pulveriser. Only a finger flung to the right prevented a boundary on that occasion. He gets two runs from Starc. And now Abdullah runs a fast – and risky – single. For once, Cummins is imperfect, a wild throw negating any chance of a runout. Babar is back from a couple of weeks off. He’s been playing golf and, judging from that first shot of the over, has brought his long irons to the MCG today. He drives at Starc’s final delivery and draws a misfield from Sean Abbott. Three runs.
4th over: Pakistan 5-1 (Abdullah 2, Babar 2) Here is Cummins, bustling to the crease. Babar Azam came to the middle after the loss of Ayub and immediately spanked neat two from Starc to draw even with Abdullah. The Pakistan batters can’t do better in this over, with Cummins bang on target straight away. It’s a maiden.
WICKET! Pakistan 3-1 (Ayub bowled Starc 1)
Starc strikes. That ball was fuller and faster and Ayub pushed forward and got a thick and ugly inside edge into the stumps.First blood to the home side! It was a tentative shot from the young opener, normally an attacking batter, but nerves got the better of him on that occasion and Australia have their first scalp of the match.
Updated
3rd over: Pakistan 3-0 (Ayub 1, Shafique 2) Starc returns. His first over tickled the speed gun at 136kph but there’s a deeper bend to the back this over. Ayub leaves the first few alone, keen to build a big innings and see off the Australian assassin…
2nd over: Pakistan 3-0 (Ayub 1, Shafique 2) Saim Ayub now has the strike to Australia’s captain Pat Cummins and he gets some bat on the first delivery, not much but enough to run a single. Pakistan are off the mark and so is Ayub. Now Shafique gets off his duck with a strong punch through point. Glenn Maxwell retrieves it in the outfield. Now Cummins the conjuror appears! His fourth ball is a beauty, just back of a length and it whizzes past the edge of Shafique’s flailing blade. Good comeback by the skipper.
1st over: Pakistan 0-0 (Saim 0, Shafique 0) Abdullah Shafique has survives the first couple of deliveries and already Starc has extracted a slight hint of swing back into the right-handed batter. Third ball is a fat full-pitched yorker on the offside and Shafique has a swish at it but is beaten for pace. He can’t get near the fifth and dead bats the final delivery. A maiden to get us started
Mitchell Starc has the new ball and we are about to get under way with the first ball of the Australian international summer…
Wiradjuri elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin is delivering a gentle and generous Welcome to Country to the teams and a small but vibrant MCG crowd. Melbourne is smack bang in the middle of its Spring racing carnival and many locals have taken today off work the Melbourne Cup, “the race that stops a nation”. Famously, American author Mark Twain, attended the Cup in 1895, and wrote: “The grandstands make a brilliant and wonderful spectacle, a delirium of colour, a vision of beauty. The champagne flows, everybody is vivacious, excited, happy.”
Updated
Pat Cummins wins the toss and Australia will bowl first at the MCG
That means we’ll have to wait for the fireworks from young master Fraser-McGurk and we’ll have to content ourselves with the greatest fast bowling cartel in the cricket world. Players are taking the field at the MCG and we’ll have the first ball soon.
Updated
Pakistan have long been an unpredictable cricket team and few predicted their Test series win over England last month. Having run up a first innings total in excess of 500, they looked primed for victory yet spectacularly capitulated to lose the first Test by an innings. Yet, under the calm resolute leadership of Gillespie, they fought back to win the next two Tests. Here’s how James Wallace made sense of such madness…
Regardless of who wins the toss, many cricket fans will be hoping to see Australia’s 22-year-old batting superstar Jake Fraser-McGurk unleashed.
Despite being the new coach of Pakistan, Jason Gillespie is a beloved figure in Australian cricket. The great-grandson of a Kamilaroi warrior, “Dizzy” is recognised as our first male Indigenous Test cricketer.
Sydney-born and Adelaide-raised, Gillespie’s celebrated 71-Test career produced 259 wickets plus another 142 scalps from his 97 ODIs. With his glorious mullet, magnificent moustache and a fast-bowler’s sneer that could curdle a batter’s bone marrow at 10 paces, he was a dream to watch and a nightmare to face.
Curiously, Gillespie’s most famous moment came with the bat: his maiden Test century was a scarcely-believable unbeaten 201 in Bangladesh – the highest score in history by a nightwatchman and an innings compiled over 574 minutes and 425 balls.
Mohammad Hasnain might be familiar to a few Australians. The beanpole quick with the lightning right-arm was first sighted on these shores in 2019 when he made his ODI debut as an 18-year-old. Back then he was regularly nudging the speed gun at 150kph but injuries have derailed his career and cut into that express speed. Five years later he makes a welcome return as a 24-year-old for a 10th white-ball match for Pakistan.
Hasnain looked pretty good in MCG nets on Saturday as he rolled in under the watchful eye of Pakistan’s new Australian coach, Jason Gillespie…
Preamble
Greetings cricket fans! Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the first men’s one-day international between Australia and Pakistan. This is game one of a three-match series and today’s action is coming to you from the Melbourne Cricket Ground. I’m Angus Fontaine and I’ll be steering you through the first fusillades of action.
Although these countries met in January for a Test series won by Australia 3-0, it’s been more than a year since they last crossed swords in the ODI format. That clash was at the 2023 World Cup clash in Bengaluru and Australia won by a 62-runs after a memorably mammoth opening stand of 259-runs between David Warner and Mitchell Marsh.
Much to Pakistan’s relief, neither of those veterans will be in the Australian squad today. Warner has retired at last and Marsh is on ice (ie. paternity leave) for the upcoming Test series against India where he will have to shoulder the bowling load of the injured Cameron Green. With master blaster Travis Head also enjoying the flush of fatherhood, it will be Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk opening for the men in gold.
Pat Cummins returns as captain for Australia for this series and leads a formidable XI of Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa.
Pakistan are fresh from a stirring Test series victory over England in England and have a new white-ball captain in Mohammad Rizwan, the 32-year-old from Peshawar in his 73rd ODI for Pakistan. They also have some new blood in their matchday XI with batter Muhammad Irfan Khan to debut and Kamran Ghulam to play his second ODI. Their four-man pace attack shapes as Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and the two-metre tall Mohammad Hasnain, who has been clocked at 155.1 kph!
Australia is experiencing a late-Spring heatwave so we have a warm, cloudy day in Melbourne and a clear forecast for this evening’s day-nighter. Play gets under way at 2.30pm AEST and you’re free to shoot me on email at any stage with interesting stats and stories, words of encouragement or clarifications for any errors as I clatter away.
Until then batten ‘em down and buckle ‘em up because the action isn’t far away.
