Akhtar out as Australia bat against Pakistan

Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and opted to bat as Pakistan left out express paceman Shoaib Akhtar in the World Cup Group A match at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.

On Thursday Akhtar announced he will retire after the World Cup and hoped he would get another chance against the defending champions.

The only change in the Pakistan side which beat Zimbabwe on Monday was the inclusion of Umar Akmal, who has recovered from a finger injury, in place of out of form opener Ahmed Shahzad.

Australia kept an unchanged side from their win over Canada on Wednesday.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Cameron White, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait.

Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz.

Umpires: Tony Hill (NZL) and Marais Erasmus (RSA)

TV umpire: Tyron Wijewardena (SRI)

Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

Pitch conditions: A slow pitch which looks brown and is likely to help spinners, but the turn will not be vicious.