Australia cricketers have plenty of motivation to do well in Sunday’s dead-rubber game in their one-day series against Pakistan, pace bowler Mitchell Johnson says.
George Bailey’s men clinched the series with a five-wicket win in Friday’s second game in Dubai.
Johnson claimed his second consecutive three-wicket haul in Pakistan’s 215 all out before Glenn Maxwell hit 76 in Australia’s 5-217 off 43.2 overs.
The third and final game is in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Australia can snatch the top ranking in ODI cricket with a three-nil result, as long as West Indies win at least two matches in their five-game series against India which is locked at 1-1.
The Australians have already climbed from fourth to second with their two wins over Pakistan.
“We want to win three-nil. That’s our goal now,” Johnson said on Friday night.
“We’ve won the series but that’s the way we are. We want to keep going, keep playing good cricket because we’ve got a World Cup coming up next year.”
Pakistan’s World Cup preparations are in disarray, especially with the bat.
Familiar collapses in totals of 162 and 215 haven’t pleased skipper Misbah-ul-Haq who has made zero and 15 to be struggling with his own form.
“We just played some irresponsible shots, poor running between the wickets,” said Misbah, who was one of three Pakistan batsmen to be run out.
Pakistan lost 10-89 in their total of 215. Their last five wickets cost 16 runs.
“We were looking for around 250. But we played some poor shots,” he said.
“It was a really poor batting display.
“The batting has let us down and we need to put things right before the World Cup. If we don’t then it’s trouble.”
Australia will play Pakistan A in a four-day game starting on Wednesday ahead of the first Test in Dubai on October 22.
Australia’s one-day squad didn’t train on Saturday. Johnson is hoping to find a lively track when the team bus pulls into Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
“I just hope there is a bit more bounce in it,” he said.
Squads:
AUSTRALIA: George Bailey (capt), David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Kane Richardson, Nathan Lyon, Xavier Doherty, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Phil Hughes.
PAKISTAN: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Irfan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Wahab Riaz, Zulfiqar Babar, Sami Aslam, Raza Hasan.
KEY STATS IN AUSTRALIA’S ODI SERIES AGAINST PAKISTAN
* World rankings: Aust 2, Pakistan 6
* Head-to-head record: Aust 56, Pakistan 31, tied 1
* Australia have claimed their fifth consecutive bilateral ODI series win over Pakistan
* Pakistan’s last ODI series win over Australia: 2002
* Series status: Aust lead 2-0.
