All you need to know: Australia v Pakistan, second Test

Australia took the opening match of the series last week in Perth but certainly had the best of the conditions: can Pakistan respond in Melbourne?

Match facts   

Who: Australia v Pakistan 

What: Second NRMA Insurance Test Match

When: 26 December – 30 December 2023

Where: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne

How to watch: Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports and Channel 7

Officials: Michael Gough and Joel Wilson (standing), Richard Illingworth (third), Phil Gillespie (fourth), Javagal Srinath (match referee)

Live scores: Match Centre   

Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live app, the Unplayable Podcast. Listen and subscribe to the podcast below.   

The Squads 

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner

 

Pakistan: Shan Masood (c), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi 

No injuries to speak of for the home side meaning they have a clean bill of health across their entire squad.   

Pakistan however, have not been so lucky. Debutant in Perth Khurram Shahzad (rib stress fracture) and spinner Noman Ali (appendix) are both out of the series while leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed's knee injury, sustained in the practice match in Canberra, has not fully recovered meaning he's been ruled out of the second Test.

Local knowledge

Considering they've played more matches here than at any other venue (115) and play annually on the 26th of December without fail, Australia have a pretty good grasp on the MCG. And their record in Melbourne over the past decade reflects that, with six wins, two draws and just the two losses in that period.

Pakistan have won twice in Melbourne from 10 attempts, but those matches were in 1979 and 1981, so it's been over 40 years since they've tasted success in the state of Victoria. 

Starting XIs   

Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

 

Pakistan XI: Imam-Ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamir Jamal

Australia confirmed an unchanged lineup for Boxing Day, meaning local boy and fan favourite Scott Boland will miss his first Melbourne Test in three seasons.

Pakistan made three changes at the toss, with the injury to Khurram Shahzad forcing their hand in the pace-bowling department. Hasan Ali and Mir Hamza both came into the XI despite neither set the world on fire in Pakistan's two-day match against Victoria during the week. The visitors have made a change to their wicketkeeping stocks, with a poor Test from Sarfaraz Ahmed opening the door for Mohammad Rizwan, who got 50 against the Vics. Faheem Ashraf has also been omitted.

Recent form   

Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, D: draw   

Australia: WLDLWWWDWL

Australia's return to the Test arena after five months went to plan, with Pat Cummins' side having plenty of moments of brilliance in their big victory in Perth. It follows a disappointing end to the Ashes in July, where they managed just a draw and two losses from the final three matches. 

Pakistan: LWWDDLLLLW

It's now 15 straight Test match losses in Australia for Pakistan who fell to a 360-run defeat in Perth. The start of their first innings with the bat and their second innings with the ball in Perth will give the visitors plenty of confidence that an upset is possible. 

Head-to-head

Overall: Australia 35 wins, Pakistan 15 wins, 20 draws 

Past 10 years: Australia seven wins, Pakistan three wins, three draws 

In Australia: Australia 27 wins, Pakistan four wins, seven draws  

Most runs: Javed Miandad (1797), Allan Border (1666), Greg Chappell (1581), Ricky Ponting (1537) 

Most wickets: Shane Warne (90), Glenn McGrath (80), Dennis Lillee (71), Imran Khan (64) 

Rapid stats

• Australia have a bowling economy rate of 3.6 in men’s Tests in 2023, the second-highest of any team to have played at least two Tests this year and Australia’s highest ever in a calendar year
• Pat Cummins (Australia) had a bowling dot ball rate of 86% in the first Test against Pakistan; it was Cummins’ highest in a Test since logging an 87% dot ball rate against Pakistan in March 2022
• Babar Azam (Pakistan) has a Test batting average of 26.1 from his 12 innings in Australia, his lowest in any country where he’s batted in more than two innings. He's passed 25 runs in only two of his 12 innings in the country
• Of the 83 players to have batted at least 10 innings in men’s Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground only Sir Donald Bradman (128.5) has a higher batting average than Steven Smith (84.8)

Where to next?   

The Sydney Cricket Ground will host the next annual New Year's Test match beginning on January 3. 

NRMA Insurance Test series v Pakistan

First Test: Australia win by 360 runs

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG (10.30am AEDT)

Third Test: January 3-7, SCG (10.30am AEDT)

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner

Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi