One of cricket’s greatest rivalries kicks off as Australia take on hosts England in their white-ball tour. While it’s not The Ashes, an Australia-England series is always filled with tons of action both on and off the field.
As the series kicks off later tonight, here’s our match preview and predictions for the 1st T20I.
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England now have their red-ball coach Brendon McCullum taking up the role as Head Coach of their ODI and T20I teams as well. McCullum has revolutionised England in Test cricket, and it remains to be seen whether he can do the same with their white-ball teams.
McCullum’s red-ball approach or “Bazball” sees his teams take an aggressive approach in cricket’s longest format, so on paper the New Zealand great should be an ideal fit for the English white-ball teams.
England have wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt taking up the role as captain of the side in absence of the injured Jos Buttler. The Three Lions had a less-than-ideal World Cup campaign in the West Indies earlier this year and will be looking to put that behind them and start afresh. This is a young side with a smattering of experienced individuals in Phil Salt, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, and Jofra Archer. The English bowling attack apart from Archer looks a bit weak, so they will be hoping that their all-rounders Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone turn up with both bat and ball.
On the other hand, Australia also have a fresh and extremely talented squad. Captain Mitchell Marsh has the dangerous Travis Head right at the top of the order along with the extremely talented Jake Fraser-McGurk, touted as one of the biggest up-and-coming prospects in cricket right now. Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis bring experience and stability with their all-round skills, while Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa have a lot of games and wickets behind them.
We should be in for a cracking series, and we give Australia the slight edge in the opening T20I.
Fantasy XI: Phil Salt, Travis Head, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Will Jacks, Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa
Venue: Southampton
Winners Prediction: Australia
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