Australia v Afghanistan Preview, Match 26, Perth

Shenwari has been consistent all the way through, but the rest of the batting hasn’t quite supported him. The only other half-century in three innings was scored by Javed Ahmadi, also against Scotland. If the top order doesn’t stand up to Mitchell Johnson, Starc, Faulknerand, possibly, Josh Hazlewood, this could be one chastening experience for the Afghans.

Australia and Afghanistan have met once previously, in Sharjah some two-and-a-half years back. There are a fair few survivors from that game in both sides, but Perth is as different from Sharjah as cricket is from tennis. Despite playing the home side, Afghanistan will not be short of support because everyone, even the Aussies, loves an underdog; what it makes of that backing, however, is another matter altogether.

Teams (from):

Afghanistan: Javed Ahmadi, Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai, Samiullah Shenwari, Mohammad Nabi (capt), Afsar Zazai (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran, Aftab Alam, Nasir Jamal, Shafiqullah, Usman Ghani.

Australia: Aaron Finch, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood, George Bailey, Xavier Doherty.

You can follow the build up to the game and the live scoring and match highlights for Australia v Afghanistan here in the ICC Match Centre.