After a cracking T20I series, all the focus shifts on the three-match ODI series between England and Australia. England won the first two T20Is but Australia gained some form by winning the third and final T20I.
Australia last played an ODI in March against New Zealand whereas England has played a three-match ODI series, last month against Ireland but that wasn’t their full-strength squad. Both the teams have gone in with their full-strength squads barring Ben Stokes who is currently unavailable.
Last year, England knocked Australia out of the World Cup in the semi-final and Australia would like to give it back in this ODI series. All the three matches will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester and it will be a cracking contest when these two teams come up against each other on Friday.
Match Details
England vs Australia, 1st ODI
11th September, 05:30 PM IST.
Old Trafford, Manchester
Pitch and Weather Prediction
The temperature will be mostly warm throughout the match and even though the weather might be cloudy, hopefully, the rain will stay away and we can have a full game.
A total of 51 ODIs have been played at this venue and the pitch is a decent one to bat on. The team batting first has won 24 games whereas the team batting second has won 27. The highest score at this venue is 397/6 by England but anything above 300 would be a good score to defend.
Squads
England
Eoin Morgan (C), Joe Root, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Tom Curran, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid
Reserves: Dawid Malan, Phil Salt, 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
The last ODI England played, they lost against Ireland while defending a total well above 300. But at that time, they didn’t have an experienced bowling line-up and this time they have the likes of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood back in the squad.
Joe Root, who wasn’t picked for the T20Is, is back in the ODI squad and is expected to take the no.3 spot in the batting order. Jason Roy has passed the fitness and test and is expected to open the batting along with Jonny Bairstow.
England’s ODI side is a pretty balanced one and they will be looking to dominate Australia throughout the ODI series. Joe Root and Jofra Archer are the players to watch out for.
Australia
Australia has the same squad which they had for the T20I series but they have a lot of options to choose from. Marnus Labuschagne who didn’t get a chance in the T20Is most probably will get a chance in the ODIs.
Mitchell Marsh played well in the last T20I so he might get a place in the XI. Australia needs to get its middle-order batting right because it has failed quite a few times. Australia would like to carry the winning momentum from the last T20I into the ODI series. Aaron Finch and Steve Smith would be the players to watch out for.
Fantasy Prediction
Aaron Finch, Eoin Morgan, Joe Root, Steve Smith, Jonny Bairstow, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Pat Cummins, Adil Rashid
Captain: Joe Root, Vice-Captain: Aaron Finch
