Related items

• Australia recover from middle-order collapse to win Pakistan opener

  Australia rallied to overcome Pakistan by two wickets in the first of three one-day internationals between the teams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

  Roared on by vocal travelling support, Pakistan were in the ascendency when their pacemen dropped Australia from 113-2 to 115-7, with the hosts chasing 204 for victory.

  Harif Rauf dismissed three while Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Hasnain also got in on the act to decimate the hosts' middle order.

  Naseem Shah had earlier scored 40 off 39 balls to salvage a score of 203 all out for the tourists, but a crucial cameo from captain Pat Cummins got Australia over the line.

  Cummins calmly came up with an unbeaten 32 from 31 balls as the hosts sealed victory with 16.3 overs remaining, with even Sean Abbott's error in being run out for 13 failing to inspire a change in the momentum. 

  Bowler Mitchell Starc told ABC Grandstand after the match: "We probably didn't like that Patty and I had pads on, but it's a positive start to the summer.

  "A win is a win no matter how you get there."

  Data Debrief: Cummins leads from the front

  Cummins' unbeaten 32 may not go down as his most memorable knock in ODIs, but it did equal his best innings for Australia in the format.

  That proved crucial after Matthew Short (1), Jake Fraser-McGurk (16), Marnus Labuschagne (16), Aaron Hardie (10) and Glenn Maxwell (0) disappointed with the bat.

  Australia, who have won both of their ODI series versus West Indies and England since lifting the World Cup in 2023, can now seal a series triumph in Adelaide on Friday.

• ‘Stokes will come back,’ says McCullum after England captain’s injury-hit Pakistan tour

  England coach Brendon McCullum backed ‘hurting’ Ben Stokes to come back stronger after they fell to a 2-1 defeat in the Test series in Pakistan on the captain’s return from a hamstring injury. 

  Stokes had missed the historic first Test in Multan that England won by an innings and 47 runs, but he recovered after a two-month lay-off to make himself available ahead of the second Test. 

  On a reused pitch in Multan, England fell to a 152-run defeat to the hosts with the 33-year-old all-rounder managing 1 and 37 with the bat and bowling just 10 overs without a wicket. 

  Stokes did not have much luck in the third Test either, collecting just 15 runs over the two innings as Pakistan made it back-to-back wins to win the three-match series. 

  “He's disappointed but he's our skipper and we know he's tough," McCullum told BBC Sport.

  "He'll make sure he'll come back. It's our job to make sure we wrap our arms around him and help him along the way."

• Stokes backs England's batters but concedes challenges were not met

  Ben Stokes has no doubt that England's battling line-up features the country's "best top six players", despite a capitulation against Pakistan.

  A 2-1 series defeat for England was confirmed on Saturday, as Pakistan claimed a nine-wicket triumph in Rawalpindi.

  The tourists were undone by Pakistan's spin bowlers, with Sajid Khan and Noman Ali seeing England all out for 112, their lowest-ever total in Pakistan. 

  England started the series with an emphatic victory, with Joe Root and Harry Brook dominating the first Test, but in matches two and three, their batting left much to be desired.

  Captain Stokes, though, is confident in the squad.

  "There is no doubt in my mind that we have got the best top six players in England," Stokes told Sky Sports.

  "You always pick your best players.

  The last couple of Tests we've been thrown some challenges and it's pretty easy to assess that we weren't able to stand up to those challenges."

  Stokes also put the onus on himself to improve, after he struggled to get going following his return from injury.

  "I am always trying to evolve and adapt whether against spin or pace," he said.

  "The disappointment is always there, it always hits hard, but when you have so much experience to fall back on it is a little bit easier to take."

  Ollie Pope, meanwhile, has come under criticism for his performances, but coach Brendon McCullum was quick to come to his defence.

  "What he did through the summer, stepping up with his captaincy and leadership and him stepping up into that role, even his 150 in that final Test match, we know when he gets in, he gets big scores and defining scores as well," said McCullum said.

  "It's not an easy place to bat at number three. I know he'll be disappointed with the volume of runs in this series but I expect him to bounce back in New Zealand.

  "We'll make sure he's got the required support to do so."

  England's next Test series sees them face New Zealand, starting next month.