Winless Pakistan elects to field against defending champion Australia at Women's Cricket World Cup

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Pakistan won the coin toss and elected to field against defending champion Australia in the Women’s Cricket World Cup on Wednesday.

Australia has never lost an ODI to Pakistan. The two sides are playing each other for the first time since 2023 when Australia thumped Pakistan 3-0 in a series.

Pakistan is still searching for its first win in the eight-nation tournament, losing by seven wickets to Bangladesh, while archrival India also beat them by 88 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium.

Australia had a resounding start to its title defense when it beat New Zealand by 89 runs at Indore last Wednesday. However, Australia will be playing after a week’s break since rain washed out its second game against Sri Lanka at Colombo on Saturday.

Pakistan made one change from the team which lost to India, leaving out all-rounder Aliya Riaz and brought in Eyman Fatima to bolster its batting.

Australia strengthened its bowling resources by bringing in experienced Megan Schutt and Georgia Wareham in place of Darcie Brown and Sophie Molineux.

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Teams:

Australia: Alyssa Healy (captain), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Georgia Wareham, Alana King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt

Pakistan: Muneeba Ali, Sidra Amin, Natalia Pervaiz, Sadaf Shamas, Eyman Fatima, Sidra Nawaz, Fatima Sana (captain), Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Nashra Sandhu, Diana Baig

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket