Australia eye fitting end to a stellar year

Australia will look to cap a brilliant year with a golden home summer by beating Pakistan in a three-Test series starting in Perth on Thursday as David Warner looks to bow out of the longest format on a triumphant note.

Having won the World Test Championship, retained the Ashes and earned a record-extending sixth World Cup title, Pat Cummins's side have the chance to celebrate with home fans against a team they have whitewashed in their last five home series.

Home skipper named a full-strength side on Wednesday with the return of off-spinner Nathan Lyon the only change from the side which retained the Ashes in the fifth Test against England in August.

Cummins also announced that middle order batter Travis Head, one of the heroes of Australia's World Cup triumph, would be one of the team's vice captains alongside Steve Smith.

"I just think the personality that he brings to the team is something that we all love," Cummins told reporters.

"He takes the game on and he enjoys it. He's always got a smile on his face. He never takes anything too seriously.

"Sometimes you can mistake that for someone who's not a deep thinker about the game but I think tactically he's excellent. So, he's got all the makings of a really strong leader."

Pakistan's new captain Shan Masood said his team will be out to buck considerable odds, and 28 years of history, with a victory over a full-strength Australia.

Masood, who replaced top batsman Babar Azam as skipper after the 50-overs World Cup, conceded Pakistan were short of test match practice but said there was no question of playing for anything less than a win at Perth Stadium.

"You have to be positive," Masood, a fan of England's 'Bazball' style of play, told reporters on Wednesday.

"It's picking your battles, it's being sensible. It's about seeing the requirement of the games and seeing what are the ways we can save time in the game and create a situation where taking 20 wickets would be easy."

Pakistan have taken 20 wickets only once in their last eight Tests in Australia going back to 2009, part of a sequence of 14 straight losses going back to their last win in November 1995.