Australia won the toss and elected to bat

Australia bat in push for top spot

Australia v Pakistan, World Cup 2011, Group A, Colombo

Unchanged Australia bat first

Umar Akmal returns

Australia will bat first in Colombo as they aim to maintain their unbeaten World Cup record, which dates bat to 1999, and in the process secure top spot in Group A. Whoever wins this match will end top ahead of the quarter-finals with final placings having a bearing on opposition and venue for the next stage.

Shoaib Akhtar, who announced his retirement during the week, has been left out by Pakistan as they retain the steadier option of Wahab Riaz. Ahmed Shehzad, the opening batsman, has paid for his poor form and Kamran Akmal will move up the order to open with Umar Akmal returning after recovering from his ankle injury.

Ricky Ponting has again resisted the temptation to experiment and retained his first-choice XI which means another outing for Shaun Tait. Australia won comfortably against Kenya and Canada without being convincing and this is an important game against quality opposition to test themselves. Ponting, himself, needs runs as does Cameron White while the spinners, Jason Krejza and Steve Smith, must show they can make an impact.

The one cloud on the horizon for the match is the chance for thunderstorms to roll in during the afternoon and evening. They have played their part in Colombo so Duckworth-Lewis may come in handy.

Australia 1 Shane Watson, 2 Brad Haddin (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Cameron White, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Steve Smith, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Jason Krejza, 11 Shaun Tait

Pakistan 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Abdur Rehman, 11 Wahab Riaz