England vs Australia 1st ODI: Match Preview and Predictions

While weather did not permit a result for the T20I series, cricket’s oldest rivalry resumes as Australia and England lock horns in the ODI series. 

Ahead of the first ODI, here’s our match preview and predictions. 

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England vs Australia 1st ODI | Australia tour of England 2024 | 17:00 IST, 19 September 2024

Mitchell Marsh, who is slowly growing into this role as Australia’s white-ball captain, has a strong squad at his disposal as the likes of Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, and Glenn Maxwell all return after missing out on the T20 series.

The Aussie batting lineup has the ever-aggressive Travis Head with the talented Jake Fraser-McGurk up top with Matt Short as an option. Smith and Marnus Labuschange at #3 and #4, respectively, will provide the side with a lot of stability and assurance with a host of big-hitters around them. Cameron Green, Maxwell, and the young Cooper Connolly fill in the all-round options, while Starc is back and will partner Josh Hazlewood with the new ball, Adam Zampa being the primary spin option for the visitors. 

Most of the Australian players already have sufficient experience in England and will take no time to get going in the conditions. 

The hosts, meanwhile, are already hamstrung even before the series starts, as their captain Jos Buttler was ruled out of the ODI series days before the action started. Harry Brook will take up the reins in his absence and has a relatively inexperienced squad in comparison to his opponents.

There will be a lot of pressure on Brook himself, while Will Jacks, Phil Salt, and Liam Livingstone will be expected to step up with the bat. The young Jamie Smith, who impressed in the Tests against Sri Lanka, will also have a lot of eyeballs on him.

Jofra Archer will be leading the English bowling attack, with Adil Rashid and Reece Topley being the other big names in an otherwise inexperienced attack, though Matt Potts has a decent amount of red-ball experience and Saqib Mahmood has a couple of ODIs under his belt. 

The Australians are the clear favourites here, having won all of their last five meetings against England. Trent Bridge is generally a high-scoring ground, so we should expect a run-fest to get the ODI series underway. 

Fantasy XI: Travis Head, Phil Salt, Harry Brook Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Liam Livingstone, Mitchell Starc, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Josh Hazlewood

Venue: Nottingham
Winners Prediction: Australia