Lanning to open but Aussies bowling first against Pakistan

Meg Lanning has joined Beth Mooney at the top of the order for Tuesday’s first CommBank T20I against Pakistan at North Sydney Oval, with the visitors to bat first after captain Bismah Maroof won the toss.

Australia sprung no surprises in their first T20I XI since December’s tour of India, with Lanning filling injured opener Alyssa Healy’s role, while Mooney will take the wicketkeeping gloves.

There were three changes in total from that dead rubber final T20I in Mumbai, with Lanning returning having missed that trip during her cricket hiatus, Jess Jonassen back from the hamstring injury that cut short her subcontinent trip, and Megan Schutt, who was rested for that game, replacing Phoebe Litchfield, Heather Graham and Kim Garth.

Australia XI: Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (c), Tahlia McGrath, Ashleigh Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Grace Harris, Annabel Sutherland, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown

Pakistan XI: Muneeba Ali (wk), Javeria Khan, Bismah Maroof (c), Sadaf Shamas, Omaima Sohail, Ayesha Nasem, Fatima Sana, Tuba Hassan, Aiman Anwar, Sadia Iqbal, Nida Dar

Schutt will take the new ball alongside speedster Darcie Brown, with Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland and Tahlia McGrath the other pace options.

Jonassen joins Ashleigh Gardner and Alana King as Australia’s spin options, with leg-spinner Georgia Wareham missing selection following her recall to the T20 squad after recovering from her long-term ACL injury.

"There's plenty of options, sometimes that can make it a little bit more tricky, but it's a good thing," Lanning said on the eve of the match.

"It's going to be very difficult to make a decision on the final XI in every game moving forward from here.

"A lot of it will come down to match-ups and who we're coming up against, and what we feel like is the best method there.

"But I feel like we've got such great options and depth in all the different areas so it's a good problem to have."

Pakistan are without key pace bowler Diana Baig, who has been ruled out of the series and the World Cup with a fractured finger.

The three-game series is a chance for both teams to fine tune their preparations for the tournament in South Africa, where Australia will be vying for a third consecutive title.

CommBank T20I Series

Tuesday Jan 24: North Sydney Oval, 1:45pm

Thursday Jan 26: Blundstone Arena, Hobart, 7:05pm

Sunday Jan 29: Manuka Oval, Canberra, 1:45pm

Buy #AUSvPAK T20 tickets here

Australia T20I squad: Meg Lanning (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

Pakistan T20I squad: Bismah Maroof (c), Aiman Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Fatima Sana, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz, Tuba Hassan