England are now an ‘attacking’ One-Day International (ODI) unit, while Australia have lost only three of their 24 completed matches in the past 12 months. Who will emerge on top? Abhishek Mukherjee previews the first ODI at Rose Bowl, Southampton.
Only six months ago, England and Australia were two differently visualised One-Day International (ODI) units. One had been dominant enough against all oppositions to clinch their fifth World Cup title, and the other were poor enough to be knocked out in the bloated first round that looked like it had been designed to discourage fringe teams from getting through on the basis of a few upsets. England were wiped out from the event by Bangladesh, once considered too poor to belong to the top table of teams, and after the humiliation, the coach Peter Moores was famously quoted to have said, “We’ll have to look at the data.” READ: Eoin Morgan focuses on long term goals for England
However, the gulf between them and the visitors has evened out, owing to a dramatic Ashes loss suffered by favourites Australia, and the quality performances against World Cup runners-up New Zealand, in the ODI series at home preceding the marquee Tests. A ‘new’ England, a more attacking and free-flowing team were on show, and they were acknowledged nicely by the British crowd and the press. READ: Eoin Morgan’s England ready for Australia challenge
In the one-off Twenty20 International (T20I) against Australia ahead of the ODI series, England showed their rise in confidence with a turnaround after being reduced to 18 for 2 in four overs. Eoin Morgan, currently in top form after a testing, dry phase, stitched a partnership of 135 with the all-rounder Moeen Ali. The team also showed nerve in preventing Australia from clinching a win by taking four wickets for 10 runs for a five-run win. READ: Joe Burns hopes to learn from overseas tours
However, in the last year, Australia have lost only three out of 24 completed ODIs. Also, in the three matches played in the venue for the first ODI, the Rose Bowl at Southampton, they have won twice. The form of the captain, Steven Smith, is fertile, and with match-winners in Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc set to participate in the five ODIs, they will be tough to beat even by a resurgent England. READ: Steven Smith confirms Aaron Finch to continue as Australia’s T20 skipper
Aaron Finch, the smashing opener, is away from action due to his recuperation from an injury, and the match-winning all-rounder James Faulkner, an integral part of the World Cup team, is excluded from the side due to a four-match ban imposed by Cricket Australia (CA) for a car crash amid drunk driving in Manchester.
Against New Zealand in a run-heavy series in June, seamers Ben Stokes and Steven Finn did well, leading the wickets-tally in the series, but warmly for them , leg-spinner Adil Rashid took eight wickets to become the third-highest wicket-taker.
In the last ODI played at the venue, New Zealand won a tight game by three wickets, with six balls left. They were chasing 303. The upcoming fixture could be a similar batsmen vs batsmen game as well.
Squads:
England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (wk), Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Australia: Steven Smith (c), Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, Shane Watson, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Agar, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson.
Time: 14:00 local | 13:00 GMT | 18:30 IST
(Abhishek Mukherjee is a reporter with CricketCountry. His Twitter handle is @bhejafryyy)