Australia 147 for 9 (Short 32, Rauf 4-22, Abbas Afridi 3-17, Muqeem 2-21) beat Pakistan 134 (Usman 52, Irfan 37*, Johnson 5-26, Zampa 2-19) by 13 runs

It looked like it would be a run fest, but then it evolved into a low-scoring thriller. In a shapeshifting T20I in Sydney, Australia adapted better than Pakistan, holding their nerve to defend a modest total of 147 and edging to a 13-run victory, which gave them the T20I series.

Australia made sure they did just enough things better than Pakistan, and on that count, ended up worthy winners.

The flight, and the uncontrolled descent

As Pakistan have learnt over the white-ball tour, when in doubt, give Rauf the ball, and that worked the charm again. He was the only man who could arrest the slide, and it didn’t take him long. A pacy bouncer that Fraser-McGurk couldn’t get on top off and slogged to the cover fielder punctured Australia, before a leading edge sent Josh Inglis on his way.

Pakistan sloppy in the field, again

Pakistan tend to take one of their most famous characteristics each game, and turn the dial up to 11. Sometimes it’s the unpredictability, at other times it’s the fast bowling. Today, they went for the comic ineptitude in the field they have picked up a reputation for.

The warning signs were there from the first over, which was when Naseem made a mess of a Fraser-McGurk top edge, and it only got worse from there.

Pakistan’s no-power play

Pakistan looked at the way Australia had been dragged back and perhaps thought “this won’t happen to us”. It didn’t, because they never got going at the front end of the innings in the first place. They did lose Babar (pick-up flick to deep square leg) and Sahibzada Farhan (pull straight to deep midwicket) to careless shots, but for much of the first nine overs, there were scarcely any attempts to hit a boundary.

But Rizwan attempted the same shot off the next ball, only to miscue it for David to take a superb catch diving forward. By this time, the asking rate was approaching ten, and Pakistan’s top order had written cheques they unfairly expected their lower order to honour.

Johnson brilliance

When Johnson began the innings with a wide down leg side that went for five, and followed it up with a wide outside off that would have done the same had first slip not done brilliantly, any comparisons with the other Johnson, Mitchell, would have only pertained to the phase in his career that spawned the unfortunate “he bowls to the left, he bowls to the right” chant. But it took the South Australian no time to turn his fortunes around, controlling his high pace and exploiting sideways movement beautifully to rip through Pakistan.

Farhan’s soft dismissal was only the beginning, and Pakistan were dented during the middle overs, and that proved telling.

Rizwan fell in Johnson’s return spell before Salman fell the very next ball, leaving Pakistan’s ultra-long tail one wicket away from being exposed. When Usman and Irfan put up a 58-run stand, it was once again Johnson who struck, taking two more in an over when his extra pace saw Usman smear a pull into the air before Abbas was dispatched in similar fashion. It allowed Adam Zampa’s double-wicket over effectively seal the game despite Irfan’s presence.

West Indies 221 for 5 (Lewis 68, Hope 54, Powell 38) beat England 218 for 5 (Bethell 62*, Salt 55) by five wickets

Hope springs, Lewis launches

Powell beats crazy collapse

Hope was run out next ball when Nicholas Pooran nudged a Rehan delivery to mid-on then sent Hope back as Livingstone fired the ball in to the bowler with Hope still backing up. Then Pooran edged Rehan’s next ball, a googly, onto his off stump. After 10 overs, West Indies were 138 for 3, their highest score at the halfway point of a T20I innings, needing 81 runs in 60 balls and with two fresh batters at the crease. It suggested more twists to come.

Livingstone took an excellent catch over his shoulder running back from mid-on to remove Shimron Hetmyer but left the field after appearing to have jarred his knee in his exertion. Of equal concern to England at the time was the fact that West Indies captain Powell was looking all business, having raced to 27 in 14 balls. He became Turner’s maiden T20I wicket, pinned on the back thigh in line with off stump, leaving his side with 23 runs to get from 21 balls.

Rutherford skied Curran high over the bowler’s head and when it dropped in the middle of four converging fielders it felt like being West Indies’ night, if any more evidence was needed. Rutherford and Roston Chase held firm, Rutherford’s six down the ground off Mousley taking his side to within one boundary of victory with seven balls remaining. He took just one, slamming the very next over deep midwicket for another maximum, and victory.

England’s flying start

An expensive opening over from Obed McCoy included four leg byes, thanks to some questionable fielding, bookended by two fours off Salt’s bat, clipped in front of square and launched over mid-off. Akeal Hosein didn’t fare any better upon his introduction in the third over, two short balls in succession dispatched by Salt for four through the covers and a thumping six over midwicket before Jacks chimed in with a straight six to make it 18 runs off the over.

Jacks maintained his onslaught against McCoy and Alzarri Joseph, crashing the latter for an 89-metre six over long-on as England’s openers took their team past fifty in 4.2 overs. Joseph’s celebration was non-existent when he accounted for Jacks with a short ball, top-edged behind square leg, Pooran running round to gather comfortably as Joseph simply frowned, put his head down and stalked away to take his place in the outfield. But Salt carried on, raising his fifty with back-to-back fours off Powell, clubbed straight down the ground and cut deftly through backward point. It was his third half-century of this tour to go with his unbeaten 103 in the first T20I.

Bethell’s blitz

Salt held his breath moments later when he miscued off Hosein towards McCoy, who did well running in from long off to meet it as it dropped a fraction short of his dive. He was out a short time later though, attempting a pull shot off Chase, the ball brushing his glove and sailing down the leg side to a waiting Pooran for a 35-ball 55.

Jos Buttler looked set to continue England’s impressive gambit as he picked off boundaries from Chase and Gudakesh Motie, but the pair combined to end his innings on 38 as Buttler reverse-swept Motie to Chase at backward point. Motie then removed Livingstone cheaply, caught by Hetmyer at deep midwicket. However, while Bethell’s half-century in the first match of this series had come in a supporting role to Salt, here he took the lead with Salt already back in the changeroom. Three sixes in succession off Chase took Barbados-born Bethell to a 22-ball fifty, his third of the tour, and he remained not out on 62 off just 32 balls after clearing the boundary five times in all and striking four fours.

“That doesn’t really make any sense to be honest,” Johnson said of his figures on Saturday evening. “It’s nice to be back at the SCG. My last time here was the Big Bash final and the conditions were in the bowler’s favour.”

Much like that BBL game, where he was struck for three boundaries off his four balls before turning things around, it wasn’t an ideal start in front of a crowd of 31,563 as his first ball went for five wides down the leg side and his third was taken first slip.

“I’ve played enough T20 cricket to know game to game you can have good games and bad games,” Johnson said. “A lot of time it’s through no fault of your own. You can mis-execute. But I knew tonight I had three overs to bounce back. I felt like the first over in that Big Bash final was a bit under pressure, and I was thinking back to that game and that I still had three overs to contribute to the team.”

Johnson is among a group of Australian quick bowlers who fight for their opportunities in white-ball cricket when the big three of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are absent as they are for this series. With that trio having spoken of Test cricket being a priority, there could be a chance of some renewal in Australia’s first-choice T20 attack ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup following their Super Eight exit at this year’s tournament although Johnson is not expecting rapid change.

“I know the big three will be here for a long time,” Johnson said. “They’re not going anywhere, they are only getting better. To be able to chop in and be part of the squad a lot more will only help me there. They are unbelievably durable and have done it for so long. They are definitely the benchmark.”

Johnson, who missed the UK white-ball tour in September with a side strain, admitted that backing up game after game remained the challenge for him. He is expected to play the final T20I in Hobart on Monday which would make it four games in a row having also featured in the deciding ODI in Perth and has his sights set on a Sheffield Shield outing for South Australia before the BBL with Brisbane Heat.

“The durability question mark is there for me, and, hopefully, the more I play the more durable I get.” he said. “I feel like the body’s getting there. It’s taken its time.”

Sydney Sixers on Saturday said Australia’s captain would not play for them again this tournament, after picking up an injury in her left knee. Australia’s three-match ODI series starts four days after the WBBL final, leaving Healy in significant doubt for international duties.

Healy did not keep in Sixers’ last-start loss against Brisbane Heat because of body management, and had entered the tournament with a foot injury that ended her T20 World Cup early. Australia host India in three ODIs, before travelling to New Zealand over Christmas for three more one-dayers.

It’s understood Healy will be assessed in the next fortnight ahead of those two series, with a squad to be announced next weekend.

The injury is not believed to be serious enough to have her in any current doubt for the multi-format Ashes, which begin with an ODI at North Sydney on January 12.

Healy had warned on her return from her foot injury that she may need to be managed through the summer.

“There are higher powers sitting above that are quite vocal in what can and can’t happen, which I completely understand,” Healy said earlier this month.  “Being skipper as well is a fairly big role for me. I want to be available for as much of the summer as I can.

“I’ve hardly played a game for the Sixers for the past two seasons, and it’s a place I really enjoy playing cricket.  I want to be available for every game that I possibly can, but the reality is that might not be the case.

“It’s going to be managing the pain, function and what I can and can’t do [all summer]. How I pull up from games is going to be really important as well.”

Healy’s injury comes as a serious blow to Sixers, who face the prospect of needing to win their last three matches to make the WBBL finals.

If Healy does miss international matches, Tahlia McGrath would be expected to deputise as captain again after doing so in the World Cup.

Queensland 274 for 7 (Renshaw 120*, Owen 3-64) trail Tasmania 461 (Weatherald 186, Doran 101, Ward 51, Straker 4-87) by 187 runs

The 28-year-old had been the forgotten man in the debate over who should open for Australia in the India series before Nathan McSweeney ultimately got the nod but his unbeaten 120 for Queensland has sent a message about his class.

Queensland finished day three on 274 for 7 and need 37 runs to avoid the follow-on with a day remaining.

A lack of Shield runs had been Renshaw’s problem in recent times but his approach on the third day at Allan Border Field was one of confidence as he led a Queensland fightback.

His first boundary, a delightful whip through mid-on, came after he walked out of his crease to meet the ball with purpose. He continued in that vein and brought up his 22nd first-class century with a punch through cover to the boundary.

Renshaw said he had taken steps to block out the hype around Australia’s opening slot.

“Deleting a lot of apps and not reading any news has been a big one,” he told AAP. “It feels like every summer there is a circus about something and it is usually about the openers because Australian cricket wants another opener.

“I am really happy for Nathan. I think he is going to do a terrific job but for us openers I think [the decision] last week might have hurt a lot of us.

“We know how tough opening is and the satisfaction of batting for a long period of time is why we do the job, facing the toughest bowlers with a brand new ball at their freshest.”

Renshaw said he had ultimate belief he would add to his 14 Tests for Australia.

“Definitely. I feel like I am not too far away,” he said. “Obviously timing is huge in cricket. I missed my time on this occasion but there will be another time in the future when I have to be ready.

“This is my 10th season now and it feels like I have been through it seven or eight times about this Test spot. I feel like I am getting better and I am happy with where my game is at.

“I felt really good the last few games but every time I have got to the spot where I wanted to I got out, so today once I got in I wanted to make sure I committed to the way I want to play.

“Having good intent really helped me today. I have been drilling into myself that I am a player able do the job in any conditions against any team. I had been trusting that something magic was around the corner and today was that magic.”

Renshaw had willing allies in Ben McDermott,  the ever-reliable Jimmy Peirson and 19-year-old seamer Tom Straker.

Most of day two was washed out but Tasmania elected to continue from their overnight 394 for 5 in pursuit of quick runs and were bowled out for 461. Allrounder Beau Webster upped the ante as wickets tumbled.

Western Australia 167 and 278 for 7 (Curtis 83*, Cartwright 78, Elliott 3-38, O’Neill 3-54) lead Victoria 373 by 72 runs

O’Neill ended Cartwright’s 166-ball vigil on 78 with a perfect cutter that tickled the outside edge. The 23-year-old, who also snared three wickets in the first innings, has proven to be a revelation for Victoria, and also starred for Australia A against India A.

Cartwright held the three-time reigning Sheffield Shield champions’ innings together with support from skipper Ashton Turner and Curtis.

The visitors resumed on day three at 34 for 1 and were made to battle before and after rain took the players off the field either side of lunch.

Strapping allrounder Elliott hit the pitch hard and snared Sam Fanning and Jayden Goodwin in the morning session, both edging into the bucket hands of first slip Peter Handscomb.

Victoria, with vital bonus points from the match, will go top of the ladder if they can secure victory.

In four Shield matches this year Cartwright has scored 420 runs at an average of 70 in a reminder of why he played two Tests for Australia in 2017.

His defiance may not be enough to salvage anything for his side from this match, but along with Curtis he has made the Victorians fight hard.

ESPNcricinfo understands the decision could be announced as early as Monday. It is the day Pakistan play their final white-ball game on their ongoing tour of Australia – the third T20I of a series Australia have already wrapped up 2-0. As things stand, it would be Gillespie’s final engagement of a brief, tumultuous time as head coach.

It is understood Aaqib was not the PCB’s first choice, with the board initially sounding out Gillespie to take over as all-format coach until the end of the Champions Trophy next March. However, he was asked to take on the additional white-ball responsibility without a change in his current contract: in effect, to take on two additional formats without being paid more for the increased scope of his role. Gillespie turned that offer down, prompting the PCB to decide they did not wish to have him in charge of the red-ball side, and beginning the search for an all-format coach.

A PCB official, though, attributes the decision to replace Gillespie down to him not spending enough time in Pakistan. It is something the PCB had privately used to explain the resignation of Gary Kirsten, the most recent white-ball coach before until he quit last month. ESPNcricinfo understands Gillespie’s view is that he has spent every day his contract demanded he be in Pakistan within the country, in addition to which he also did the Shaheens tour of Darwin without pay as a gesture of goodwill.

How much time Gillespie needs to spend in Pakistan is a moot point at the moment. They have no cricket at home for the next two months in any format and go directly from Australia to Zimbabwe, after which they play an all-format series in South Africa. Their next home engagement is a two-Test series against the West Indies at the end of January, and their only white-ball games before the Champions Trophy come in a short tri-series against South Africa and New Zealand in February.

After the PCB began looking for a coach, they initially considered the possibility of either elevating Azhar Mahmood, or appointing Saqlain Mushtaq, who served as coach in from 2021-22. Neither, though, appeared to draw enough support from within the PCB’s advisory circle, which led to Aaqib being offered the position. It is understood he will be asked to take on the role until the end of the Champions Trophy, following which the PCB will reevaluate.

Gillespie’s time – should it come to an end, as expected – has been eventful. It began ignominiously when Pakistan slumped to a home 2-0 defeat against Bangladesh, but things turned around with a come-from-behind 2-1 triumph against England – Pakistan’s first Test home series win in nearly four years. With Kirsten resigning soon after, he was appointed interim white-ball coach for the tour of Australia, and oversaw Pakistan’s first series triumph in the country in 22 years, turning around another opening-game defeat by romping to two crushing wins in the ODI series. The T20I series that followed was rain-curtailed, but Australia wrapped it up with a game to go.

A decision to part ways with Gillespie would also draw a close to a remarkable year in Pakistan’s pursuit for coaching staff. Last November, Mickey Arthur, then team director, was told by then PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf he would not be going with the team for the Test series in Australia – Mohammad Hafeez performed that role instead. Arthur and Grant Bradburn, then head coach, left soon after. Mohsin Naqvi assumed the PCB chair weeks later, beginning the hunt for what he called “the best possible coaches”, ultimately appointing Gillespie and Kirsten.

At the time, he said “their stellar track records preceded them” and that they would be given independence to work with their respective sides. Six months later, Kirsten had left, without coaching Pakistan in a single ODI – the format that he won the 2011 World Cup with India in. Gillespie, it appears, is set to follow him out of the door imminently.

For Aaqib, meanwhile, the speed of his ascent has been supersonic. Until a few weeks ago, he was Lahore Qalandars’ long-term coach and director of cricket operations, where he had a mixed record; he led the side to consecutive PSL titles, but also saw several bottom-placed finishes, including earlier this season.

When appointed a member of the selection committee, he was viewed by the PCB’s top brass as the mastermind behind the implementation of spin-friendly wickets against England to turn that series. He quit his role at the Qalandars to focus on the PCB, where he was initially viewed as the favourite to be appointed director at the National Cricket Academy.

He served a stint as Sri Lanka’s bowling coach earlier this year, but now begins his highest profile challenge. Pakistan have a choc-a-bloc cricket season until the Champions Trophy. Six white-ball internationals against Zimbabwe will be followed by as many in South Africa, with two Test matches to come after. Pakistan then play two Tests against West Indies at home and a tri series featuring South Africa and New Zealand before the Champions Trophy, which is set to begin on February 19.