Peake confirmed for Australian debut in Pakistan

Oliver Peake will become the 252nd Australian to play men’s one-day international cricket tonight, skipper Josh Inglis has confirmed.

The 19-year-old from Geelong has had a meteoric rise since starring in Australia’s 2024 U19 World Cup victory at the age of 17.

“I can confirm that Ollie Peake will make his debut tomorrow (Saturday) so it is incredibly exciting for Peakey,” Inglis said from Rawalpindi.

“He has been a great asset to the group so far. We have seen what he has done in recent years and he really deserves to be here.

“So incredibly excited for him.”

At 19 years and 261 days, the left-hander will beat Ricky Ponting’s record as the youngest specialist batsman to make his debut for Australia.

Ponting was 20 years and 58 days old when he made his ODI debut in February 1995 against South Africa in a tournament in New Zealand, batting 1 at number 6.

The youngest ever ODI debutant for Australia was Pat Cummins at 18 years and 164 days. Cummins is one of the few frontline stars missing from this tour as selectors prioritize the maximum 21 Tests Australia will play in a 12-month block from August.

Although Australia has not confirmed a full squad for the opening match, it will also play towering speedy Billy Stanlake in Rawalpindi, Inglis said.

“Billy Stanlake is coming back into the team,” Inglis said.

“I think it’s a great story with Bill, he hasn’t been with the group since 2019 so I think the resilience he showed to get back on the park and put in some good performances last year, he really deserves to be here.”

Nine years on from his international debut, Stanlake is set to play his eighth ODI after rediscovering his best following a move to Tasmania and the Hobart Hurricanes.

Inglis will captain the Pakistan leg of the Australian winter white-ball tour, which also includes six matches in Bangladesh, with Mitch Marsh sidelined by an ankle injury sustained in the IPL.

“It is obviously disappointing to lose our skipper,” Inglis told Pakistani reporters.

“He is a big part of the group and is of course also a fantastic player. It is a shame for Mitch that he has to miss this tour.”

With Nathan Ellis likely to lead the Australian attack alongside Stanlake, the Aussies also have Riley Meredith available for pace.

Adam Zampa, Matthew Kuhnemann and Tanveer Sangha are the frontline spin options, while slow-bowling all-rounder Matt Short is also available. Cooper Connolly, who was added to the squad late after the withdrawal of Mitch Marsh, has had an IPL campaign but is currently not bowling as he has an issue.

Peake made his professional debut in all three formats between January and July last year. And while he is yet to register a century and boasts just 26 matches experience, he has already represented Australia A in 50-over cricket, hitting 55no from 38 balls from No. 6 on debut against Sri Lanka A in Darwin last winter.

For Victoria last summer he made a match-winning 70no to start the Sheffield Shield season but found the going tough afterwards, scoring 253 runs at 18.07 with another half-century in the rest of the season.

There was also a thrilling 42no (30) for the Renegades, including a winning six from the last ball of the match. All this – plus the support of McDonald and selection chairman George Bailey – is enough to make Peake feel well placed to face the prospect of international cricket.

“I think the selectors are telling you that you are ready by selecting you in the squad,” he told cricket.com.au during a pre-tour training camp in Brisbane. “That’s probably the best support you can get… it doesn’t feel like an experiment or anything.

“And Australian domestic cricket feels so strong, and for (the Test team) to be number one probably shows that the level below that will be the strongest in the world, and sometimes in quite testing conditions (for batsmen).

“So if you go to places where the conditions are different, but maybe easier to bat in than what domestic cricket is – and do quite well in a few games in domestic cricket – then I think you get the confidence that you can perform.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to have done a lot of tours around the world. Having been to India three times, (to) Namibia and Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, South Africa, I feel like I’ve been exposed to a lot of different conditions.

“When you play in all those countries you just have to adapt. I feel like that’s been a big part of the journey, getting the exposure to developing new techniques or a new mentality, to go there and still perform in different conditions, and quickly realize that you might have to play differently.

“So (traveling around Pakistan) doesn’t feel like anything completely different.”

Qantas tour of Pakistan and Bangladesh 2026

Australian squad for Pakistan ODIs: Josh Inglis (c), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Riley Meredith, Oliver Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Matt Short, Billy Stanlake, Adam Zampa

Pakistani team: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Maaz Sadaqat, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir, Sahibzada Farhan, Shadab Khan, Shamyl Hussain, Sufyan Moqim

May 30: First ODI, Rawalpindi Stadium, 9:30pm AEST

June 2: Second ODI, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, 9:30pm AEST

June 4: Third ODI, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, 9:30pm AEST

Australian squad for Bangladesh ODIs: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Adam Zampa

June 9: First ODI, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka, 3pm AEST

June 11: Second ODI, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka, 3pm AEST

June 14: Third ODI, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka, 3pm AEST

Australian squad for Bangladesh T20Is: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Adam Zampa

June 17: First T20I, Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Chattogram, 6pm AEST

June 19: Second T20I, Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Chattogram, 6pm AEST

June 21: Third T20I, Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Chattogram, 6pm AEST

All matches exclusively on You exercise and Fox cricket