After thumping India : Oz toast Pakistan B squad

For 5 ODIs packed into a 10-day window

and one of the last remaining chances to assure fans just two months from the World Cup !

Captain Sarfaraz absence for this five-match series - he is being rested
- places particular scrutiny on Shoaib Malik leadership skills.

He will have to cope without two young players who have become stalwart over the past two years
in Shadab Khan and Babar Azam

Australia, by contrast, are coming off a surprising 3-2 series win against India

coming from behind to win the last three games.

After the second game, Australia had won 4 of 28 ODIs

since they last played against Pakistan in January 2017

IF Australia bring much the same squad to the UAE to face Pakistan
AND continue to play the sort of cricket that thumped India
a less than full strength Pakistan will have their hands full in Sharjah !!

Abid Ali, Mohammad Hasnain and Saad Ali could all be in line for debuts
but when that happens over the course of this series remains to be seen.

Pakistan are obviously taking the opportunity to experiment ahead of the World Cup !!

Following Umar Akmal being sent home by coach Mickey Arhur from the Champions Trophy in 2017
and dropped from the centrally contracted list, there was a high profile bust-up
between the coach and the player in September 2017.

Since then, Umar hasn't so much been in contention for any Pakistan squad

SO the decision to recall him for the five-match series against Australia took many by surprise

His last international for Pakistan came against Australia in January 2017

and here, against the same opposition, is his chance at a frankly astonishing redemption.

Usman Khawaja had never scored an ODI hundred a fortnight ago.

That was before the Army Cap was worn by India, and since that third ODI
he has registered scores of 104, 91 and 100
nearly increasing his career ODI run tally by 50% over those three games.

What will motivate Usman against Pakistan ?

Last October he scored a Test-match saving hundred against Pakistan in Dubai
the second longest fourth innings effort in Test history.

280 - 5 after 50 overs

That is Haris Sohail's century ! His first in ODI cricket.
He has played well and gets a great ovation from the fans in Sharjah.

49.1 Coulter-Nile to Haris Sohail, 1 run, good length on off, he sits back and tucks this behind square

Innings break ~ Brilliant finish from Pakistan ~

Australia need 281 to win this first ODI !

Pakistan thumped as well !
Finch 100+, Marsh 91
Usman 20+

another thumping and close to a series sweep.

Usman Khawaja lost his "Cap" when on 88 hahahaa

1-209 (UT Khawaja, 36.4 ov)

www.espncricinfo.com/series/18886/report...ralia-in-uae-2018-19
36.4 Yasir Shah to Khawaja, and finally this mammoth, record-setting opening stand is broken !

UT Khawaja c Imam-ul-Haq b Yasir Shah 88

SWEEP .....3 nothing !

Australia 266/6
Pakistan 186 (44.4/50 ov, target 267)

Australia won by 80 runs