Australia vs. Pakistan 1st ODI betting tips & bookie specials

Match betting
Australia – $1.25 at Bet365
Pakistan – $4.45 at Sportsbet

Highest opening partnership
Australia – $1.62 at CrownBet
Pakistan – $2.34 at Sportsbet

Highest first 15 overs
Australia – $1.44 at William Hill
Pakistan – $3 at Sportsbet

Most match sixes
Australia – $1.50 at Sportsbet
Pakistan – $3.50 at Bet365

THE selectors’ minds may be on India, but Australia still has plenty of cricket to play before the side heads to the subcontinent in February.

Next up is the five-match One Day International series with Pakistan, which kicks off Friday, January 13 in Brisbane.

Given the recent upturn in the Aussies’ fortunes, one wouldn’t have been all that shocked if Trevor Hohns and his selection panel had named more or less the same squad as that which swept away New Zealand in December’s Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.

Yet the axe-swinging has continued, with George Bailey, Aaron Finch and Hilton Cartwright all chopped from the 14-man roster.

In comes Usman Khawaja, although the in-form Test star will sit out at the Gabba to make room for Travis Head at the top of the order.

There will be an ODI debut for Chris Lynn, whose remarkable displays in the Big Bash League have been impossible to ignore.

And then there is big Billy Stanlake.

With only a handful of domestic appearances to his name, the 22-year-old quick has bolted into the national squad on the back of some very promising displays for Adelaide Strikers in T20 cricket.

All reports suggest he will be thrust into the action on Friday in place of Josh Hazlewood, who is scheduled for a rest.

If Stanlake does line up at the Gabba, he will eclipse Bruce Reid as the tallest man ever to represent Australia in international cricket.

Pakistan’s squad bears only a passing resemblance to that which went down 3-0 in the Test series.

Gone are the evergreen batsmen Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan, both of whom retired from ODI cricket in 2015.

Also not required for the 50-over games are Sami Aslam, Sohail Khan and Yasir Shah.

The big news out of the touring camp is the unexpected departures of keeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed and giant seamer Mohammad Irfan, both of whom have flown home for personal reason.

Junaid Khan has replaced Irfan, while Ahmed’s absence means Mohammad Hafeez could opening the batting alongside the in-form Azhar Ali.

Another who will look to take his chance is Asad Shafiq, who hasn’t played an international one-dayer since 2015.

There were some promising signs for the visitors in their warm-up game against a raw Cricket Australia XI on Tuesday.

Having shown only glimpses of his vast ability in the Test series, Babar Azam got some runs under his belt with a well-struck 98 at Allan Border Field.

There were also half-centuries for Sharjeel Khan and Umar Akmal, while veteran allrounder Shoaib Malik chipped in with 49.

Tidy bowling efforts from Hasan Ali (3/18), Imad Wasim (2/23) and Malik (2/20) sealed a resounding 196-run victory, with Josh Inglis (70) the only CAXI batsman to pass 20.

It remains to be seen whether Pakistan can replicate those sorts of numbers on the big stage.

Australia vs. Pakistan ODI squads

Australia: Steve Smith (captain), Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Chris Lynn, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

Pakistan: Azhar Ali (captain), Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Rahat Ali, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz.

Chris Lynn betting specials

Who isn’t looking forward to a bit of Lynnsanity at the Gabba?

The 26-year-old slogger has gone to another level in BBL06, smashing 309 runs and some 26 sixes in his five knocks this season.

The test for him, as alluded to by Australia coach Darren Lehmann earlier this week, is to bring that form to the international arena.

Lynn’s five T20 International appearances have yielded only 65 runs, 33 of which came in a single unbeaten knock.

Injuries have prevented the Queenslander from bettering that record, but all signs suggest he is ready to make his mark on the world game.

What better way to announce one’s arrival than with a big knock on home soil?

Top Australia batsman – $5.50 at CrownBet

Top match batsman – $6.50 at Sportsbet

To score 100 – $8 at Sportsbet

Man of the match – $11 at CrownBet

Lynn most runs/Stanlake most wickets – $25 at William Hill