Aussies bat first as Pakistan hit by injury

Australia have rested star quick Pat Cummins for the remainder of their ODI series against Pakistan, starting with tonight's game in Dubai, while the hosts have named a new skipper.

With Australia holding an unassailable 3-0 series lead in the four-match series, Cummins will return home tomorrow in order to rest ahead of the World Cup, which starts in a little more than two months.

The Australians have made two changes for the fourth game of the series; Cummins' spot has been taken by Nathan Coulter-Nile, who was rested from game three, while Kane Richardson will play his first game of the series in place of Jason Behrendorff, who has a stomach bug.

Pakistan will be captained by Imad Wasim after Shoaib Malik was ruled out due to a rib injury, while opener Imam ul Haq is also out of the side. Saad Ali and Abid Ali have both come in to make their international debuts.

Australia lost the toss and will bat first at the Dubai International Stadium as they aim to extend their six-match winning streak.

Coming off scores of 116 and 153 not out in the first two games of the series against Pakistan, captain Aaron Finch fell for a "frustrating" 90 in the third ODI in Abu Dhabi where his side sealed series victory and a sixth-straight win.

The Australian skipper narrowly missed out joining the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Kumar Sangakkara as men to have scored hundreds in three consecutive ODIs, but he now could become the first Aussie to post three tons in a bilateral ODI series.

And with 359 runs at the astonishing average of 179.50 and two games still to be played, Finch is also only 28 runs away from passing David Warner's record for the most runs scored by an Australian in a five-game ODI series.

As he prepares to lead Australia at a World Cup for the first time while also handling the reintegration of Steve Smith and David Warner following their bans, Finch admits rediscovering his touch in the middle is a load off his shoulders.

"Winning is the most important thing and being able to contribute to that with the bat is obviously important, and it makes you feel better," Finch said.

"You don't lose as much sleep worrying about a lot of the stuff that occupies your mind as a captain.

"So to get some runs at the back end of that series in India, get a 90 and contribute with a couple of other starts was nice.”

Pakistan: Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Saad Ali, Imad Wasim (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari, Junaid Khan, Muhammad Hasnain

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Nathan Lyon, Kane Richardson

Qantas Tour of the UAE

First ODI: Australia won by eight wickets

Second ODI: Australia won by eight wickets

Third ODI: Australia won by 80 runs

Fourth ODI: v Pakistan, March 29 in Dubai

Fifth ODI: v Pakistan, March 31 in Dubai

(all matches begin at 10pm AEDT)