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 been on a meteoric trajectory since playing a star role in Australia’s U19 World Cup win in 2024 when aged just 17.
“I can confirm that Ollie Peak is going to make his debut tomorrow (Saturday), so it’s incredibly exciting for Peakey,” Inglis said from Rawalpindi.
“He’s been great value around the group already so far. We’ve seen what he’s done over the last couple of 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 batter to debut for Australia.
Ponting was aged 20 years and 58 days when he made his ODI debut in February 1995 against South Africa during a tournament in New Zealand, making 1 batting at No.6.
The youngest ever ODI debutant for Australia was Pat Cummins at 18 years and 164 days. Cummins is among a handful of front-line stars missing from this tour as selectors prioritise the up to 21 Tests Australia will play in a 12-month block from August.
While not confirming a full XI for the opening match, Australia will also play towering quick Billy Stanlake in Rawalpindi, said Inglis.
“Billy Stanlake is going to be back into the side,” Inglis said.
“I think it’s a great story with Bill. He’s not been around 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 in line to play his eighth ODI, having rediscovered his best following a move to Tasmania and the Hobart Hurricanes.
Inglis is captain for the Pakistan leg of Australia’s winter white-ball tour that also includes six matches in Bangladesh with Mitch Marsh sidelined by an ankle injury picked up at the IPL.
“It’s obviously disappointing to lose our skipper,” Inglis told Pakistan reporters.
“He’s a big part of the group, and he’s obviously a fantastic player as well. It’s unfortunate for Mitch to miss out on 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 with slow-bowling allrounders Cooper Connolly and Matt Short available.
Peake made his professional debuts 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, hammering 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 begin the Sheffield Shield season but found the going tough thereafter, scoring 253 runs at 18.07 with one more half-century through the remainder of the season.
There was also a thrilling 42no (30) for the Renegades that included a match-winning six from the final ball of the contest. All of it – plus the backing of McDonald and selection chair George Bailey – is enough to have Peake feeling well placed to face the prospect of international cricket.
“I guess (selectors are) telling you you’re ready by picking you in the squad,” he told cricket.com.au at a pre-tour training camp in Brisbane. “That’s probably the best backing that you can get … it doesn’t feel like an experimental run or anything.
“And Australian domestic cricket feels so strong, and (the Test team) being number one ranked probably shows that the level below is going to be the strongest in the world, and sometimes in pretty testing conditions (for batters).
“So going to places where the conditions are different, but maybe easier to bat in than what domestic cricket is – and doing decently well in a few games in domestic cricket – I guess gives you confidence that you can perform.
“I’ve been very lucky to go on a lot of tours around the world already. Having been to India three times, (to) Namibia and Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, South Africa – I feel like I’ve already had exposure to a lot of different conditions.
“Playing in all those countries, you have to just adapt. I feel like that’s been a great part of the pathway, (getting) exposure to develop new techniques or new mindsets, to go out there and still perform in different conditions, and get your head around quickly that you might have to play differently.
“So (touring Pakistan) doesn’t feel like anything too different.”
Qantas Tour of Pakistan & Bangladesh 2026
Australia 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
Pakistan squad: 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
Australia 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
Australia 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 exclusive on Kayo Sports and Fox Cricket
