Australia took the first of their five-match ODI series against Pakistan in convincing fashion, but there is still plenty for each team to work on as the series heads south to the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The match, in all honesty might as well have been over before it started when Steve Smith won the toss and elected to bat first on a scorching Brisbane day.

It seemed that way anyway – within a short half an hour, we had a game on our hands with Smith himself joining David Warner and debutant Chris Lynn back in the sheds, leaving Australia completely stranded at 3 for 52.

Even though spin bowling all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez didn’t pick up a wicket, he paved the way for Mohammad Amir to remove both Warner and Smith in consecutive balls before Hasan Ali, who was expensive got rid of Lynn.

Warner would be the first to go, getting done for pace by a good length ball before Smith joined him in the sheds, slashing at a wide one and getting caught behind.

Travis Head led the resistance for the Aussie batting order and while Chris Lynn gave a short glimpse of what he could do, it simply didn’t last long enough as he was removed soon enough trying to send a wide one into the Brisbane River.

Mitch Marsh again failed not long after Head got out and suddenly Australia were on the ropes at 5 for 78 with the Pakistani’s having the most fun they have had since arriving down under.

As has been the case since the start of the Test series though, someone put their hand up to dig Australia out of trouble with the volunteers being Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Wade this time around.

Their partnership of 82 led Australia back into the game, before the long batting order supported Wade to the finish line where he scored a century on the last ball of the innings, taking Australia to 9 for 268.

In reply, Pakistan got off to a cracking start, with openers Azhar Ali and the ultra-aggressive Sharjeel Khan building a wonderful platform for the rest of their team.

However, in a horror case of deja vu things unravelled once again for the tourists. Sharjeel holed out to Glenn Maxwell at mid off playing a poor shot, Azhar had to retire hurt with cramps and Haffez was sent on his way not long after.

From there, the loss of wickets was regular for Pakistan with only Babar Azam, who bafflingly came in at No.4 instead of No.3 provided any resistance, with the rest of the order, including a returning Azhar knocked over for just 176 – 92 runs short of the target.

Pakistan have had issues with their batting all tour, and despite the illness to Shoaib Malik, they should have done a lot better than that on a wicket with few gremlins and after bowling so well.

A loss like that really leaves Pakistan in the lurch, staring down a 2-0 deficit which would just about be series defining.

While most teams would be confident of avoiding that, it’s difficult to see where Pakistan are going to improve from. Even with the dream start they found a way to lose this one, and unfortunately it’s a trend for Pakistan when they go on tour that they will play inconsistent cricket and find a way to lose.

As for Australia, they seem in a ruthless mood with plenty of spots in the side still on the line before the rest of this series, the upcoming tour to New Zealand and the Champions trophy in the middle of the year.

Last five meetings

January 13, 2017 – Australia defeated Pakistan by 92 runs
March 20, 2015 (world cup quarter-final) – Australia defeated Pakistan by 6 wickets at Adelaide Oval
October 12, 2014 – Australia defeated Pakistan by 1 run at Abu Dhabi
October 10, 2014 – Australia defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets at Dubai
October 7, 2014 – Australia defeated Pakistan by 93 runs at Sharjah

Last five series

2014 – Australia defeated Pakistan 3-0 in United Arab Emirates
2012 – Australia defeated Pakistan 2-1 in United Arab Emirates
2010 – Australia defeated Pakistan 5-0 in Australia
2009 – Australia defeated Pakistan 3-2 in United Arab Emirates
2002 – Pakistan defeated Australia 2-1 in Australia

Remaining series fixtures (all times AEDT)

3rd match: January 19 at WACA (2:20pm)
4th match: January 22 at Sydney Cricket Ground (2:20pm)
5th match: January 26 at Adelaide Oval (2:20pm)

Are Pakistan mentally already on the plane heading home?
If the answer to this question is yes then we are going to find it out in Melbourne. The Pakistanis’ have been known to play some of their worst cricket at the back end of tours, and this one has been a disaster.

While they do have some new personnel in the side, they couldn’t capitalise on a brilliant start in Brisbane and it begs the question about exactly where the mental state of the side as a whole is.

Those who were on the Test tour by this point must be looking forward to leaving Australia – and all the memories of this tour behind – while those who have come for the limited overs series have walked into a team that has lost its way.

It can’t be a good feeling in the camp whatsoever, and for that reason it’s probably only going to get worse over the next four games.

There could be some very ugly results coming up for the tourists, and there is a feeling it will start right here.

Is Chris Lynn the middle order answer?
As many pointed out after my preview for the first match, Chris Lynn was never really picked to answer, but the question still stands about exactly what he is doing in the middle order.

If he was picked to be a direct replacement for George Bailey then it makes zero sense, because the pairs playing styles couldn’t be more different.

Lynn gave us a brief glimpse of exactly what we can expect moving forward on Friday when he sent a ball into the grandstand despite Australia being under all sorts of pressure, but the shot he played to get out was dreadful.

The No.4 spot is one of the most important in the side in that it needs to be a player who can either up the ante or solidify an innings – and at this point, it’s unclear if Lynn will survive long there.

Why was Babar Azam moved from no.3?
Babar Azam is a top order batsman and simply put, there are no two ways around the fact he should have been at no.3 for Pakistan in the first ODI.

Why Mohammad Hafeez, who wouldn’t have ordinarily made the team if not for illness to Shoaib Malik batted at first drop ahead of a batsmen who could become the equal fastest to 1000 runs in ODI cricket is beyond me, as it was for many others.

Azam will surely be back at first drop in Melbourne, and he looks in some solid form so could be a real difference maker for the tourists.

Travis Head needs to lock down an opening role for his own good.
Didn’t our new opener look in some stunning form during his stay at the crease. Under pressure, he played some stunning shots, with his cover driving in fantastic order.

What many don’t realise is that Head wasn’t just asked to open as a last ditch ‘we are out of options’ approach, but that he is the regular opener in the domestic competition for South Australia.

From a personal perspective, opening is the position Head wants to be at – and if he wants to lock away his spot as a long term option for Australia in the 50-over format, then opening is the best way to do it.

His competition for the spot to accompany Warner at the start of innings is currently an out of sorts Aaron Finch and the defensively-minded Usman Khawaja.

The wonderful thing about the South Australian is that he can go up and down the gears in an innings as need be and allow others to tee off around him.

While he will never bat for 50 overs on a consistent basis, he can go into every innings with that as his aim – to occupy an end and finish with a big century to his name every single time.

The problem for Head if he was to fall back into the middle order is the competition – Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade, Chris Lynn, George Bailey and in the not to distant future Peter Handscomb among others are all likely to be battling for spots.

It almost seemed like Head had realised it as well and was out to make a statement in Brisbane. Expect him to do something very similar in Melbourne.

David Warner and Steve Smith are both due for a score
If you’re a Pakistan fan, you might want to look away right about now.

It’s not often that Warner and Smith both fail in the same innings or same game, and even rarer that they would find a way to do it two matches in a row.

For that reason, expect one of them – or both – for that matter to make a big score on the home of Australian cricket and attempt to guide their team to the 2-0 series victory.

Pakistan will open with spin again.
Whether it’s Mohammad Hafeez (and whether he is still in the team or not) or whether it’s another spin bowler, Pakistan will follow their successful method from Brisbane and open with spin bowling once again in Melbourne.

While Hafeez didn’t actually pick up a wicket, he was the man who set up the early wicket of David Warner who simply got bogged down and struggled to get anything going, before getting knocked over by Amir.

Haffez bowled seven solid overs in the end, but his opening spell on a pitch where it was hard to play slower bowlers ensured Australia got off to a very slow start, wickets included, and had plenty of work to do to build a competitive score.

Billy Stanlake’s tenure in the team might be short-lived.
Granted, Stanlake went off the field with a fatigue issue, but he wasn’t overly impressive in his three overs and offered very little of anything else to write home about.

There is no question he will get another chance at some point during the series, but he must make it count if he wants to keep his spot.

Key game information

First ball: 2:20pm (AEDT)
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
TV: Live, Nine Network
Online: Cricket.com.au live pass
Betting: Australia $1.27, Pakistan $3.82
Overall Record: Played 94, Australia 59, Pakistan 31, tied 1, no result 3
Last five: Australia 5, Pakistan 0

Likely Teams

Australia
1. David Warner
2. Travis Head
3. Steve Smith (c)
4. Chris Lynn
5. Mitchell Marsh
6. Glenn Maxwell
7. Matthew Wade (wk)
8. James Faulkner
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Pat Cummins
11. Billy Stanlake

Rested – Josh Hazlewood
Rest of squad – Usman Khawaja, Adam Zampa

Pakistan
1. Azhar Ali (c)
2. Sharjeel Khan
3. Babar Azam
4. Shoaib Malik
5. Umar Akmal
6. Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
7. Imad Wasim
8. Mohammad Nawaz
9. Mohammad Amir
10. Wahab Riaz
11. Hasan Ali

Rest of squad – Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Rahat Ali

Hours of play

*Times are subject to change due to over rates, game situation, weather

Prediction

Pakistan haven’t truly looked like being the dominant team or winning a game all tour no matter what format of cricket they have been playing.

Australia have had their measure at every turn and don’t expect that to change before this series inevitably becomes dead rubbers in the last couple of games.

Particularly if David Warner or Steve Smith go big here – or another batsmen announces their form, Travis Head for example – this could get very ugly for Pakistan.

Australia to comfortably go 2-0 up in the series.

Don’t forget The Roar will have a live blog of each and every day from the summer of cricket as well as highlights throughout the match.

Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde