England and Australia face off in the second game of the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series at Lord’s on Saturday. Australia will head to the Home of Cricket in a positive frame of mind after getting off to a winning start, having outplayed the hosts to record a 59-run win. Amit Banerjee predicts the eleven players that the Australian team management are likely to pick for the upcoming match. Scorecard: England vs Australia, 2nd ODI at Lord’s
Top-order: Joe Burns will be a no-brainer for the Australians for the opening partner of David Warner in the second game after the Queensland batsman struck a valuable 44 in addition to his 69 against Ireland on his ODI debut. With Warner also in good form, having scored 84 and 59 in his last two 50-over appearances, Australia will be hopeful of getting off to a good start. Captain Steven Smith will be expected to follow at No. 3, while George Bailey will hope to improve upon his form after getting dismissed for 23 in the series opener. READ: Australia outplay England to record 59-run win in 1st ODI
Middle-order: Both Glenn Maxwell (15) and Shane Watson (6) were disappointing with the bat, though they made amends with the ball by taking crucial wickets in economical spells. While the team management is likely to stick with the winning combination from the first game, they might opt to replace one of these two with Ashton Agar, who showed promise for Australia A during the recent triangular series that also featured the ‘A’ teams of South Africa and hosts India. Matthew Wade won the ‘Man of the Match’ in the Southampton one-dayer, and will hope to repeat his feat. READ: Matthew Wade aims to regain spot in Australia Test squad
Lower-order/bowling unit: Mitchell Marsh proved to be a valuable partner for Wade as the pair resurrected the Australian innings to guide them past the 300-run mark, which proved to be a winning total. Mitchell Starc is likely to spearhead the bowling unit, even though he went for quite a few runs in the first game, especially during his first spell. Nathan Coulter-Nile and Pat Cummins took wickets at crucial stages to turn the game around. Expect the two to breathe down on the English batsmen alongside Starc in the Lord’s ODI as well. READ: Mitchell Marsh says he is comfortable batting at No. 8
Likely XI: David Warner, Joe Burns, Steven Smith (c), George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell/Shane Watson, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Starc.
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