Oliver Peake surpassed former captain Ricky Ponting to become the youngest-ever specialist batter to make ODI debut for Australian when the Victorian teenager was named in the playing XI against Pakistan in the first ODI in Rawalpindi on Saturday. Australia will play three ODIs against Pakistan, with the remaining two to be hosted by Lahore.
With several top names busy with Indian Premier League (IPL), Peake was one of the new faces Cricket Australia named for the ODI series against Pakistan. The left-hander Peake made his debut at 19 years and 261 days, thus beating Ponting's record, who was 20 years and 58 days at the time of ODI debut against South Africa in February 1995.
All-rounder Pat Cummins remained the youngest-ever ODI debutant for Australia at 18 years and 164 days. The 19-year-old Peake from Geelong has been on a meteoric trajectory since playing a star role in Australia's U19 World Cup win in 2024, when aged just 17, according to the cricket.com.au.
Pakistan opt to bowl after winning toss
Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and decided to field in first ODI. During the toss, Shaheen Afridi said Pakistan chose to bowl first because the pitch looks slow and low, and that the team looks to take advantage of the conditions. He also highlighted the significance of Pakistan playing their 1,000th ODI, calling it a proud and special milestone for the country.
Pakistan enter this ODI series after a 2-1 loss against Bangladesh in their away series. While the Bangladesh series provided Pakistan with valuable competitive preparation, they will be keen to deliver a commanding performance in front of their supporters in Rawalpindi.
Australia, meanwhile, haven't played an ODI since their home series against India in October last year. They defeated India 2-1 in the series. Australia will look to win the series opener against Pakistan and kick their 2027 World Cup preparations off positively.
Pakistan vs Australia 1st ODI live streaming in India
Due to the border tensions between India and Pakistan, the former will not stream or live telecast the PAK vs AUS ODI series. Having said that the Indian fans can still catch live stream of the Pakistan vs Australia ODI series on the Sports TV YouTube channel.
Pakistan vs Australia 1st ODI playing XIs
Australia: Matthew Short, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis(w/c), Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Oliver Peake, Nathan Ellis,Tanveer Sangha, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Kuhnemann
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Babar Azam, Ghazi Ghori(w), Salman Agha, Abdul Samad, Shadab Khan, Arafat Minhas, Shaheen Afridi(c), Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
