Key events
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.
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?
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!
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!
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!
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!
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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
Angus Fontaine
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.
