Aussie selectors left red-faced as axed opener shines; Green slump continues — ODI Talking Pts

Australia’s batters once again failed to tame the subcontinent’s spinning decks as Pakistan cruised towards a five-wicket victory in Saturday’s ODI series opener in Rawalpindi.

Asked to bat first, the undermanned Australians were rolled for 200 in 44.1 overs, with each of the seven specialist batters dismissed by spinners.

Australia’s right-handers had no answer for Pakistan debutant Arafat Minhas, who claimed record-breaking figures of 5-32 from ten overs, including the dismissals of Josh Inglis, Cameron Green and Marnus Labuschagne during a dreadful collapse of 3-6.

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Captain Inglis only had himself to blame for his wicket, trapped LBW for 13 after attempting a reckless reverse sweep, while Labuschagne was struck on the pads for a second-ball duck having gone back to a full delivery. In Minhas’ following over, Green was bowled by a peach that beat the outside edge and clipped the top of the stumps, toppled for a third-ball duck.

Australia’s ongoing susceptibility to left-arm spin on dry drecks remains a glaring concern ahead of next year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign in India, when the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel will be probing from around the wicket.

While Pakistan’s spinners collectively took eight wickets, Australia’s tweakers proved less effective on the turning surface, only managing three wickets during the run chase.

Adam Zampa, Australia’s greatest white-ball spinner since Shane Warne, was ruled out of the match at the eleventh hour due to neck spasms, replaced in the starting XI by fellow leggie Tanveer Sangha, who finished with respectable figures of 1-31 from ten overs.

However, Australia’s failure to unearth wickets during the middle overs, with Pakistan superstar Babar Azam and wicketkeeper Ghazi Ghori combining for a 127-run partnership for the third wicket, proved the difference between the two sides.

Speaking to reporters during the post-match press conference, Australian batter Matthew Renshaw suggested dew made conditions more challenging for spinners in the evening.“There were two different conditions out there,” said Renshaw, who top-scored for the tourists with a 63-ball 61.

“Pakistan obviously won the toss and bowled, so they could bowl in the daytime, and then once the dew came in, it was a little bit different for our bowlers.

“I felt like our bowlers bowled really well in those conditions, made it a really tough chase for Pakistan.

“But the Pakistani spinners are always quality. Not surprising to see someone (like Minhas) come in and do really well. They always produce good spinners.”

Matthew Short faced the new ball in the absence of first-choice openers Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh, hitting a 76-ball 55, his fourth ODI fifty. While the rest of Australia’s top-order succumbed to Pakistan’s spinners, at one stage collapsing to 4-68 in the 16th over, Short battled through to the 27th over before becoming Minhas’ fourth victim of the afternoon, stumped after charging and playing down the wrong line.

Earlier this year, Short was brutally axed from Australia’s T20 World Cup squad at the last minute due to apparent shortcomings against spin, and the irony didn’t go unnoticed as he outperformed his more experienced teammates on Saturday. Meanwhile, the 30-year-old has not been selected for next month’s ODI tour of Bangladesh, where spinners are once again expected to dominate.

“That’s just the nature of travelling around the world,” Renshaw responded when asked about the conditions.

“When we come to the subcontinent as Australians, we know we’re going to get more wickets favouring spin. Subcontinent teams come to Australia and are getting bouncy fast ones.

“It is what it is. When we come over here, we know that. We’ve prepared as well as we can for that.

“There’s a few balls that went really low that spun, but that’s just the way that cricket is when you come to the subcontinent.”

Concerns about Green’s form will grow in volume after the West Australia’s latest failure with the bat; the all-rounder hasn’t reached fifty in his 15 most recent international innings across formats, including the recent home Ashes series against England.

The 26-year-old, who has averaged 20.57 since the start of last summer, remains at risk of losing his spot in the Test side ahead of a blockbuster summer, headlined by up to 21 Test across 12 months.

Marnus Labuschagne is also in the midst of a worrying slump, averaging 21.38 across formats since the start of last year; he hasn’t scored a Test century since July 2023, an abysmal drought for a Test No. 3.

In ODIs, the Queenslander has averaged 12.54 across his 14 most recent matches, with no fifties since September 2024.

The new faces in Australia’s starting XI didn’t fare very well either; teenage debutant Oliver Peake was dismissed by spinner Salman Agha for 7 after edging through to the wicketkeeper, while fast bowler Billy Stanlake, playing his first ODI in seven years, claimed 0-37 from six overs.

The undermanned Australians were missing a cluster of first-choice players, including captain Marsh, opener Head and the bowling trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

“It’s just one of those with scheduling,” Renshaw said of the high-profile absentees.

“Some people are not available for this tour, but we’ve got a really good young group coming through. It’s given an opportunity for a guy like Ollie Peake, so it’s exciting that Australia is getting to see some of these guys.

“It’s just one of those things sometimes with scheduling and formats, just the way that things work around the world.”

The second ODI between Pakistan and Australia commences at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday at 9.30pm AEST.

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