Australia win toss, elect to bat in one-off ODI match

Fast-rising Afghanistan will open another chapter in their remarkable story when they play their first One-Day International (ODI) against former world champions Australia © AFP

 

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By CricketCountry Staff

 

Sharjah: Aug 25, 2012

 

Australian captain Michael Clarke has won the toss and elected to bat first in the only One-Day International (ODI) against Afghanistan at Sharjah on Saturday. 

 

Fast-rising Afghanistan will open another chapter in their remarkable story when they play their first One-Day International (ODI) against former world champions Australia.

 

War-torn Afghanistan, who gained affiliate membership from the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001, took a giant leap two years ago by finishing fifth in the World Cup qualifiers.

 

That earned them the right to play one-day internationals.

 

Afghanistan took the first step towards playing bigger teams when they faced Pakistan in a one-day match in Sharjah in February and although they lost by seven wickets their performance proved they deserved more chances.

 

For Australia, the pre-series hype focused on how they cope up with the high temperatures but their acting coach Steve Rixon said a policy has been devised to combat the oppressive weather.

 

Teams:

 

Australia: Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, Michael Clarke (c), Michael hussey, David Hussey, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Xavier Doherty

 

Afghanistan: Karim Sadiq, Javed Ahmadi, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Nawroz Mangal (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Asghar Stanikzai, Samiullah Shenwari, Gulbodin Naib, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran

 

Click to view ball-by-ball commentary & full score of the ODI match here