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Australia Vs Pakistan

The Australians have picked their 12 and the only tricky decision is whether to play Nathan Hauritz or use three quicks in partnership with Watson and James Hopes. Michael Clarke has talked about being ready to bowl some of his left-arm spin, so he may be employed if Hauritz is left out.

Things are less clear for Pakistan, who are lugging around a 17-man squad. Expect Kamran Akmal to return, more for his power hitting than his glovework, after he was dropped for the final Test in Hobart. The tourists have a lot of strike power, led by Afridi and the Akmal brothers

Australia Squad :
Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Cameron White, Brad Haddin (wk), James Hopes, Clint McKay, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz.

Pakistan squad :
Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Yousuf (capt), Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wk), Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Khalid Latif, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Mohammad Aamer, Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Asif.

Pitch and Conditions :
The Gabba has been excellent for batting during the domestic Twenty20 matches over the past month and whoever wins the toss will want to set a big target. In the early overs of the second innings the ball can swing as darkness falls, making life harder for the run-makers, and the extra bounce will take the Pakistanis some time to adjust to. The weather is expected to be fine throughout Friday, with a top of 32C.