Aussies mulling first Test team: Cummins

As Pakistan keep their deck under wraps, Pat Cummins is also keeping his playing cards hidden on the eve of Australia's first Test match in the country for 24 years.

Ground staff at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium have curiously prepared two pitches for the first Test starting Friday.

Both are under covers as rain on Thursday washed out scheduled training sessions for both Australia and the hosts.

Cummins is uncertain which pitch will be used for the opening match of the three-Test series.

But he says which strip is unveiled on Friday is unlikely to alter Australia's selection, which is yet to be settled.

"I don't think it will really change if they chose one of the two (pitches), it probably wouldn't change our XI," Cummins told reporters on Thursday.

"Not being able to get down there today means there's two days without seeing the wicket between the toss and yesterday's training session.

"We had a good look at the wicket the last few days, it looks like a good wicket.

"Probably, as expected, not a heap of grass on it but enough to probably keep it together a little bit."

Cummins said the final piece of Australia's selection puzzle will be decided at the stadium just hours before the start.

"We have got a fair idea of what we want to do but don't want to make the call too early without fully knowing what the wicket is," he said.

Australia's selection hinges on whether they want to play two specialist spinners and two fast bowlers, or frontline offspinner Nathan Lyon plus three pacemen.

Cummins said a study of statistics of Test matches in Pakistan "seemed to favour fast bowlers".

But it's a small recent sample size with only five Tests played in Pakistan since Test matches resumed there in 2019, a decade after a