New openers given license as Cummins reveals XI for first ODI

Australia's newest opening pair have been given a license to attack the new ball as captain Pat Cummins revealed his XI for the opening game of the men's international summer.

Former Victorian teammates Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk will open the batting together for the first time in national colours on Monday in their hometown of Melbourne, with Cummins also returning for his first one-day international since last year's World Cup final triumph.

Australia's captain sat out September's UK tour to focus on his preparation for a jam-packed international summer that begins with the first ODI against Pakistan at the MCG, followed by five home Tests against India and a two-Test tour of Sri Lanka.

Fraser-McGurk and Sean Abbott are the other additions to a side that secured a 3-2 series victory over England in Bristol in Australia's most recent one-dayer.

Australia XI v Pakistan, first ODI: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Short was instrumental in that series decider with his maiden ODI half-century off just 23 balls, while Fraser-McGurk has earned a recall with Travis Head and Mitch Marsh absent due to paternity leave.

Abbott also comes into the line-up as Josh Hazlewood builds up to the first Test against India on November 22 by playing for NSW in their ongoing Sheffield Shield clash with Queensland, while Cooper Connolly was part of the Australia A side that beat India A in Mackay.

Both Hazlewood and Connolly will link up with the ODI squad ahead of the second match in Adelaide on Friday.

Cummins warmed up for the summer with a 50-over match for NSW against Victoria last month – his first appearance for his state in more than three years – and says he's "super fresh" after a three-month break following his stint in the United States franchise competition in July.

"(My) body feels like it's not 50 years old … (I'm) really happy with how the build-up has gone, no hiccups," the 31-year-old told reporters on the eve of the first ODI.

"I feel as well-placed as I could do. It's a really good entry into the summer (this ODI series).

"Outside of playing for NSW, I hadn't played for a few months. (The ODIs are) high intensity cricket but you're capped at 10 overs, which is a great way to kick into the summer."

Cummins said he would play the first two matches against Pakistan in Melbourne and Adelaide on Friday before making a call on whether he makes the trip to Perth for the third ODI or switches to red-ball mode.

Short and Fraser-McGurk will be Australia's sixth different ODI opening pair in as many matches after a host of injury and illness concerns in England required regular juggling of the XI across the five-match series.

Not since Fraser-McGurk partnered Josh Inglis in the second and third ODIs against West Indies last February have Australia's openers been the same for consecutive matches.

Both Fraser-McGurk and Short are vying to partner Head in next year's Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan, with the reigning ODI World Cup champions' destructive Powerplay batting a major reason behind their 50-over success over the past 12 months.

No team has scored at the faster strike rate (114.5) in the first 10 overs in men's ODIs since the start of last year's World Cup than Australia and Cummins' message to his new pair is simple: "Keep it going.

"Both of them in T20 and one-dayers have been pretty scary to bowl at so that's our message to them," he said.

"My preference would be they give it a good crack for sure."

Australia v Pakistan limited-overs series 2024

Australia ODI squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Pakistan ODI squad: Mohammad Rizwan, Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Irfan Khan, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi

November 4: MCG, 2.30pm AEDT

November 8: Adelaide Oval, 2.30pm AEDT

November 10: Perth Stadium, 2.30pm AEDT

Australia T20 squad: Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Pakistan T20 squad: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Abbas Afridi, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan.

November 14: Gabba, 7.00pm AEDT

November 16: SCG: 7.00pm AEDT

November 18: Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 7.00pm AEDT

All matches live and exclusive on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports