Maddinson in line for T20 return

Less than two months after being axed by New South Wales, Nic Maddinson could feature in Australia’s T20 side in the upcoming tri-series in Zimbabwe.

According to Australia captain Aaron Finch, Maddinson’s versatility in the shortest format is a valuable commodity and could come in handy when the Aussies face world No.1 ranked side Pakistan tonight.

"When you pick a squad, you try and mix and match the guys that can fit in anywhere and Nic definitely does that," Finch said.

"In terms of the hopefully five games coming up, there's every chance he'll feature at some point."

Maddinson will be jostling for a starting position in the middle order with the likes of Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell, but after a solid KFC Big Bash League the left-hander could feature in his first T20 international since November 2014.

The left-hander worked exclusively with head coach Justin Langer on his batting in Australia’s final training session before Monday's first match.

On match eve, captain Finch was reluctant to put any pressure on his side, erring on the side of caution, especially when it came to the topic of a depleted Zimbabwe squad.

"Never take anything for granted, particularly in T20," he said.

"We know it’s a game that anyone can win by themselves on a given day so it’s really important that we come here and make sure we’re 100 per cent focused each and every game.

"All teams are missing a few players but that’s the nature of sport, you have injuries, you have some other issues that might pop up every now and then. We’re really confident coming into this series.

"We’re ranked (No.3) in the world behind Pakistan so it’s a really good opportunity to test ourselves again and make sure we’re measuring up and we’re still improving in this format."

Australia will name their XI at the toss, after T20 selector Mark Waugh’s arrival in Zimbabwe was delayed due to travel problems, which in turn delayed the selection of Australia’s opening side.

"Mark Waugh’s flight got delayed a couple of times, so we’ll sit down this afternoon and nut out a side," Finch said.

Australia face an in-form Pakistan side who completed their eighth consecutive T20 international victory after thumping Zimbabwe in the series opener.

Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side is now looking to hunt down the record of 11-straight wins held by Afghanistan.

Qantas Tour of Zimbabwe

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (vc), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth

Pakistan squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan Shinwari, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sahibzada Farhan.

Zimbabwe squad: Hamilton Masakadza (c), Cephas Zhuwao, Chamu Chibhabha, Brian Chari, Tarisai Musakanda, Malcolm Waller, PJ Moor, Tendai Chisoro, Kyle Jarvis, Brandon Mavuta, Blessing Muzarabani, Chris Mpofu, Ryan Burl, Solomon Mire, Wellington Masakadza, Elton Chigumbura, Ryan Murray

July 1: Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 74 runs

July 2: Pakistan vs Australia

July 3: Australia vs Zimbabwe

July 4: Zimbabwe vs Pakistan

July 5: Pakistan vs Australia

July 6: Australia vs Zimbabwe

July 8: Final