Pakistan aim high in upcoming Australia tour as hosts lose Healy to injury

Sports Jan, 14 2023

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Islamabad: Pakistan embarks on their first away bilateral series against Australia in eight years. Taking on Australia in three ODIs, Pakistan also have the opportunity to gear up for the Women's T20 World Cup with three T20Is against the tournament's defending champions. It's a timely return for Bismah Maroof's team, desperate to make early ground in the ICC Women's Championship race and to finalise plans ahead of next month's global event in South Africa.

Pakistan began their tour with a one-day match against the Australian Governor General's XI. At one stage, it made a strong start to the outing, consigning their opponents to 8/3, claiming both Ash Gardner and Phoebe Litchfield early.

Runs from Charli Knott and Erin Burns threatened to take the match away from the tourists, though Pakistan's bowlers, most notably experienced campaigner Nida Dar, hit back. Dar claimed 4/46 (10) to keep Pakistan slightly in front, with five wickets shared between opening bowlers Diana Baig (2/26) and Fatima Sana (3/27). They restricted the Australian Governor General's XI to a score of 253. The visitors looked on course during their chase, but a collapse would lead to them being bowled out for 182 and losing the contest by 53 runs. The tour hosts will likely need to tinker with their playing XI, particularly in the shorter of the two formats, with multiple squad shuffles ahead of their title defence. Georgia Wareham returns from a lengthy injury lay-off and could join Alanna King in a leg-spinning double team should conditions at the tournament suit, a combination that may be experimented with in the home series.

The team found a winning formula on their T20I tour of India, winning the five-match series 4-1. However, the side will be eager to cement plans on the batting side following Rachael Haynes' retirement in September and an injury keeping Alyssa Healy out of action.

Healy continues her calf rehab after missing parts of the India tour, though the matches on home soil mark Meg Lanning's return after her time away. Allan Border Field in Brisbane hosts the first two ODIs before the teams travel to North Sydney Oval for match three of the series.

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