Australia will kick off their home summer on Thursday, December 14th with the first of three Test matches against Pakistan at Optus Stadium in Perth.
The series opener will see the return of Nathan Lyon for the hosts, while the visitors will come into the contest with new leadership following Babar Azam's decision to stand down from the captaincy.
Australian selectors have a couple of huge selection decisions to make, particularly relating to the No.6 position, while all eyes will be fixed on David Warner for his final series in the Baggy Green.
The Sporting News has all the latest team news ahead of the first Test below.
Australia 1st Test team news and confirmed XI
Pat Cummins has officially unveiled his XI for the first Test of the summer, with no surprises in the team.
After missing the back-half of The Ashes earlier this year, veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon will return from injury and will replace Todd Murphy in the squad and playing lineup.
David Warner and Usman Khawaja will open the batting, while Mitchell Marsh will remain in the middle-order and Cameron Green forced to carry the drinks as 12th man.
No other major changes have been made for the Aussies, with both Lance Morris and Scott Boland expected to miss out on selection for the first Test.
Australia confirmed XI vs Pakistan
- David Warner
- Usman Khawaja
- Marnus Labuschagne
- Steve Smith
- Travis Head
- Mitchell Marsh
- Alex Carey
- Pat Cummins (c)
- Mitchell Starc
- Nathan Lyon
- Josh Hazlewood
Australia Test squad vs Pakistan
Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner
Pakistan 1st Test team news and confirmed XI
Shan Masood will captain the side and comes into the clash in strong form after a double-ton in the warm-up fixture, while the likes of Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi will be included in the playing XI.
Abrar Ahmed suffered a knee injury in the tour match last week and will be unavailable, with Sajid Khan coming into the squad for the first Test.
Masood has handed Test debuts to bowling all-rounder Aamir Jamal and right-arm quick Khurram Shahzad as Pakistan, just like Australia, have also announced their playing XI for the first Test.
Pakistan confirmed XI vs Australia
- Abdullah Shafique
- Imam ul-Haq
- Shan Masood (c)
- Babar Azam
- Saud Shakeel
- Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk)
- Salman Ali Agha
- Faheem Ashraf
- Shaheen Shah Afridi
- Aamir Jamal
- Khurram Shahzad
Pakistan Test squad vs Australia
Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi