SYDNEY: Aspiring Test openers Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw were all included in a strong Australian side Thursday for a warm-up match against Pakistan as they audition to replace the retiring David Warner.
They were among six players with Test experience in the Prime Minister’s XI for a four-day red-ball encounter with the visitors in Canberra next month to open the Australian summer.
The two sides meet in three Tests — in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney — from December 14 with veteran opener Warner indicating he would quit the longer format afterwards.
That would leave a vacancy to open alongside Usman Khawaja in the following two Tests in mid-January against the West Indies.
All-rounder Cameron Green was also named in the PM’s XI as he works to reclaim his Test spot after falling out of favor in all three formats over the past few months.
“We’re pleased to reward some of our leading first-class performers over multiple seasons with an opportunity to face quality international opposition,” said chairman of selectors George Bailey.
“With a heavy workload of Test cricket coming this summer, this match provides an opportunity to continue to build depth around our national red-ball squad.”
PM’s XI: Nathan McSweeney (capt), Cameron Bancroft, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Nathan McAndrew, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Beau Webster
Australian openers vie for attention in Pakistan warm-up
https://arab.news/5p3gy
Australian openers vie for attention in Pakistan warm-up
- Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw included in Australian side as they audition to replace retiring David Warner
- Two sides meet in three Tests from December 14 with veteran opener Warner indicating he would quit the longer format afterwards
Pakistan says 641 Afghan Taliban members killed, over 855 injured in ongoing conflict
- Both neighbors have been engaged in fierce fighting since Feb. 26 after Afghan forces launched retaliatory attacks against Pakistan
- Pakistan information minister says 243 Afghanistan checkposts destroyed, 65 “terrorists and terror support locations” targeted by air
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has killed at least 641 Afghan Taliban operatives and injured more than 855 in the ongoing conflict between the two sides since last month, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday.
Fresh clashes between the two neighbors began on Feb. 26 after Afghanistan’s border forces launched attacks against Pakistani military installations. Kabul said the attack was in retaliation for Islamabad’s airstrikes earlier in February. Both forces have since then engaged in the worst fighting between them in decades.
Islamabad has said its airstrikes, which have at times directly targeted the Afghan Taliban government, are aimed at ending Kabul’s support for militants carrying out attacks on Pakistan. The Taliban has denied aiding militant groups.
“Summary of Fitna Al Khawarij/Afghan Taliban losses: 641 killed, 855+ injured, 243 check posts destroyed,” Tarar wrote on social media platform X.
https://x.com/tararattaullah/status/2031687512868159638?s=46
The minister said Pakistani security forces have destroyed 219 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns in the operation so far, and also decimated 65 “terrorists and terror support locations” across Afghanistan by targeting them with airstrikes.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained strained since the Afghan Taliban seized power in August 2021. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks across the country in recent months that it blames on militants it alleges are based in Afghanistan.
Kabul denies the allegations and insists that its soil is not used by militant groups for attacks against other countries.
While Afghanistan has voiced the desire for dialogue, Pakistan has repeatedly ruled out talks, saying it will continue targeting militant hideouts in Afghanistan through “Operation Ghazab lil Haq” till Kabul desists from supporting militants.
The ongoing conflict between both sides has put the region on heightened alert, as it already suffers from the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran.
