Pakistan win toss, elect to bat against Australia

Pakistan, who have not beaten Australia in a one-day series since 2002, have lost 4-1 to England and 3-1 inSri Lanka, slipping to sixth in the one-day rankings © AFP

By CricketCountry Staff

Dubai: Aug 28, 2012

Pakistan captain Misbah ul Haq won the toss and elected to bat agaisnt Australia in the first One-Day International (ODI) at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Pakistan, who have not beaten Australia in a one-day series since 2002, have lost 4-1 to England and 3-1 inSri Lanka, slipping to sixth in the one-day rankings.

Australia, who slid to fourth from number one for the first time in three years after a humiliating 4-0 defeat in England last month, not only face an opponent laced with quality spinners but also with high temperatures.

Pakistan, who are playing their home series on neutral venues because of security fears in their country, was forced to host the series in the extreme hot conditions in United Arab Emirates after Sri Lanka backed out as alternate.

Pakistan also considered Malaysia as the option but threats of rains ruled out that option too, forcing them to start the one-day matches at 6pm in the evening and finish them at 1:45 am the next day.

Teams

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Misbah ul Haq (c), Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema

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

Click here for ball-by-ball commentary & full scorecard for the first ODI here