After the England-Pakistan series, the focus now shifts onto another T20I series, this time between England and Australia. Australia is touring England for a three-match T20I and ODI series just before the IPL. So, all the IPL franchises will also have an eye on how their players are performing just before the tournament.
England lost the last game against Pakistan which is a close encounter. Australia on the other hand hasn’t played any cricket since March. It is going to be a challenge for the Australian players to get back in touch as early as possible.
Both the teams have great squads and the pitches are going to be good which means we are in for some high-quality cricket in this upcoming week as England takes on Australia at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.
Match Details
England vs Australia, 1st T20I
03rd September, 10:30 PM IST.
The Ageas Bowl, Southampton
Pitch and Weather Report
The weather is most likely going to be cloudy but all cricket fans will be hoping that the rain stays away. The temperature is going to be pretty warm throughout the match.
Only five T20Is have been played at this venue with the team batting first winning three and the team batting second winning two. The average score is around 172 which suggests that it is a good pitch to bat on. With aggressive batsmen on both sides, you might see that score going higher.
Squads
England
Eoin Morgan (C), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Joe Denly, Tom Curran, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid
Reserves: Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood
Australia
Aaron Finch (C), Steve Smith, David Warner, Alex Carey (WK), Josh Philippe, Matthew Wade, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Agar, Daniel Sams, Sean Abbot, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Riley Meredith, Kane Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa
Team News
England
Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer have joined the England squad which is a huge boost for them. Ben Stokes is still in New Zealand and so he won’t be part of this series. It is going to be a traffic jam at the top as Buttler loves to open the batting as well. One of Dawid Malan or Sam Billings might have to make way for Jos Buttler.
In the bowling department, Archer will play in place of Saqib Mahmood. One of Sam Curran and Mark Wood will play in place of Lewis Gregory. The spinners are doing a good job for England and they will continue to do so.
Australia
The main disadvantage for the Australians is they haven’t played much cricket apart from a few warm-up games. They have a huge squad to pick from and selecting an XI from those many players is going to be a tough task. Warner and Finch up at the top as always form a formidable pair.
Smith, Maxwell, Carey with another all-rounder will make up the middle-order. Australia has 6-7 fast bowlers to pick from out of which Starc and Cummins might be the certainties. Australia would like to start this England tour on a winning note.
Fantasy Prediction
Jos Buttler, David Warner, Aaron Finch, Eoin Morgan, Jonny Bairstow, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Mitchell Starc, Adil Rashid
Captain: Jos Buttler, Vice-Captain: Glenn Maxwell
