ICC World Cup 2019: Match 17, Pakistan vs Australia - Toss Report

Australia Cricket Team, fresh off a heartbreaking loss against India, will take on Pakistan in match 17 of the ICC World Cup 2019 at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. Meanwhile, both teams have had a wobbly start to their campaign and will look to set the tone of the tournament. 

Australia-Pakistan look for a win after a dismal start

The defending champions, Australia, have gaps to fill and problems to solve with their bowling. For the first time in a long time, the Aussies are lagging behind in the bowling department. Their batting, however, remains a threat as they showed with a gallant fight in the game against India. Besides, the injury of Marcus Stoinis will compel them to tinker with the playing XI. Stoinis sustained a side strain and will not take part in today’s game.

Also read: ICC World Cup 2019: Shikhar Dhawan Upbeat Despite Suffering Serious Injury

On the other hand, Pakistan did the unexpected, by breaking their 11-match losing streak by defeating the favourites for the title, England. The bowling has looked good with senior cricketers Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz leading the pack. Besides, the batting has performed with Mohammad Hafeez among the runs will be a massive advantage to the Sarfraz Ahmed-led side.

However, Pakistan have not managed to beat Australia in the last 11 encounters and it will take a monumental effort from the whole team to end that record. Meanwhile, a good surface is on offer with quite significant green coverings. The bowlers will get some assistance from the deck but once the batsman sets his eye in, he can look for a big score.

Toss Report

Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed has won the toss and elected to bowl first against Australia at Taunton.

Here is what the captains said,

Sarfraz Ahmed

We are going to bowl first today. There’s a bit of grass and moisture on the pitch, so we need to take advantage of that. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play the last game, but we practised hard in the last few days so the momentum is very high for us. Shadab Khan will sit out today and Shaheen Afridi comes back in for us. One of our Test umpires (Riazuddin) has passed away, and in honour of him, we’re all going to wear black bands today.

Read More: ICC World Cup 2019: Match 18, India vs New Zealand – Match Prediction

Aaron Finch

Would’ve bowled first too. A tinge of green and some moisture in the wicket. In a world cup, winning so many against Pakistan doesn’t really matter much. We have to wait and see what the wicket plays like. I expect some swing and seam movement. It depends on the game. India bowled really well to us as, as did Afghanistan. Marcus Stoinis is out with a side-strain, Shaun Marsh comes in for him, and Kane Richardson comes in for Adam Zampa.

Read More: ICC World Cup 2019: Match 18, India vs New Zealand – New Zealand’s Predicted Playing XI

Playing XI

Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch (capt), Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Kane Richardson

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt & wk), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir