JOHANNESBURG, Feb 10: After West Indies heart-stopping victory over hosts South Africa, the unpredictable Pakistan are hoping to put one across favourites Australia when the two teams clash in what is being described here as the encounter of the World Cup preliminary round matches at the Wanderers on Tuesday.

This is an important Group ‘A’ encounter between a highly professional and consistent Australia and a Pakistan team regarded as the most talented but also most erratic but capable of beating the best when on song.

Pakistan will be hoping a repeat of the 1999 group clash when, led by Wasim Akram, they won but later the Aussies exacted revenge in the final by a convincing margin.

On paper and if form book is any yardstick to go by, Australia have an edge over Waqar Younis’s men but the instant version of the game is ever more unpredictable than the conventional five-day Tests. Any team, no matter how good it may have been in the previous games, could lose the next match a s discovered by the South Africans on Sunday night in Cape Town.

Although both camps are sounding confident on the eve of the tie but wary of getting beaten and were in no mood to predict the outcome which could decide their advance into the next stage of the competition, first step towards the cherished goal of lifting the game’s biggest prize, come March 23.

“We are better prepared for World Cup. Several key players who missed out in recent months are fit and eager to do well,” said Waqar at the press briefing.

Waqar accepted that Pakistan were underdogs against Australia which suits them fine as there would be less pressure on the players but he warned that they were not going to be complacent against undoubtedly the best team in the competition.

The Pakistan skipper was evasive when asked about the likely formation and said the final eleven would be named before the match. “We will have a meeting tonight to decide the final composition,” he added.

Australian skipper, Ricky Ponting was cautious and admitted Pakistan were a dangerous side but made it clear that they were not scared and would take the match in their strides.

“Pakistan are never easy opponents and we do not underestimate them. They have some class players but we are confident of our abilities and will go into the match with a positive frame of mind,” declared the man who took over captaincy of Australian one-day squad from the redoubtable Steve Waugh.

Ponting said there were no injury problems and was certain that spin king Shane Warne would play despite reports that he was not fully fit. Warne was out of action for several months due to a shoulder surgery.

Meanwhile, Saeed Anwar is certain to miss this game although Waqar claimed that the left-hander stood 50-50 chance of playing but according to reports he is not fully fit and Pakistan are not going to gamble on him.

The former Pakistan skipper did light training on Saturday and Sunday but in all probability another left-hander Taufiq Umar will get the nod ahead of Saleem Elahi.

Teams (from):

AUSTRALIA: Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Jimmy Maher, Andrew Symonds, Ian Harvey, Brad Hogg, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Andy Bichel.

PAKISTAN: Waqar Younis (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saleem Elahi, Shahid Afridi, Taufiq Umar, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Rashid Latif, Abdul Razzaq, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Azhar Mahmood

Umpires: David Shepherd (England) and Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka).

TV umpire: Brent Bowden (New Zealand).

Match referee: Clive LIoyd (West Indies).