Rivals England and Australia are set to resume hostilities when they meet in a three-match T20I series starting Friday, September 4, in what will be the first foray into competitive cricket for the men from Down Under since the global pandemic-induced lockdown, while their colonial cousins already have a T20I series win against Pakistan firmly tucked under their belt.
All three matches are scheduled to take place at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, and below, we preview the first of those three.
England's full squad
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
Australia's full squad
Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
England's Probable XI
Young Tom Banton, who has been impressive in the recently-concluded series against Pakistan, will likely retain his spot at the top of the batting order in the continued absence of Jason Roy.
Joss Buttler returns to the fold and will likely take Dawid Malan’s spot in the playing XI. Sam Billings and Sam Curran will be the two seam all-rounders in the side and Moeen Ali will likely retain his place despite his poor performances against Pakistan.
Seamer Jofra Archer too will mark his return in the playing XI alongside Mark Wood.
Probable Playing XI: Tom Banton, Jonny Bairstow(wk), Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan(captain), Sam Billings, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer.
Australia's Probable XI
Australia will be bringing a 21-man roster to England for the T20I as well as the ODI series and while there are a plethora of options to choose from and the think-tank will certainly experiment will multiple combinations, they are likely to go with the tried and tested team for the first T20I.
Captain Aaron Finch and David Warner will open the innings for the Aussies, while Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis and Steve Smith will be next in. All-rounder Glenn Maxwell will likely bat at No. 6 and keeper Alex Carey will follow him in the lineup.
Adam Zampa will be the specialist spinner in the side while Kane Richardson, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins will form the three-pronged pace attack.
Probable XI: Aaron Finch (captain), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins.
Weather Forecast for first England vs Australia T20I
Rains are expected to play spoilsport during the first T20I.
Prediction for first England vs Australia T20I
Australia last played a T20I in late February while England played a lot of white-ball cricket since the resumption of the sport following the global pandemic-induced lockdown.
Keeping that in mind, the home side is poised to possess the edge in this contest while the visitors from Down Under work on shaking off the rust.
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Feature image courtesy: AFP / Lakruwan Wanniarachchi
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