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| More than just a result at stake in one-off T20I as both teams try to get combinations right for the five ODIs that will follow |
It might have lost the Ashes 3-2, but as far as One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals go, Australia still holds all the right cards.
In the lead up, Australia did get some match practice to dust away the cobwebs with a 23-run win over Ireland in the one-off ODI, but its task will be far tougher when England brings to the one-off T20I its recently discovered brand of attacking cricket.
Australia has five ODIs after the T20I fixture, but this will be its best chance to test some of its newest personnel.
The Steve Smith-led side has plenty of short-format experience under its belt, while Ashton Agar and Marcus Stoinis come into the mix after a recent run of good performances in India as part of the Australia A team. Stoinis, especially, provides Australia with a replacement for James Faulkner, who was suspended by Cricket Australia for “conduct that is unbecoming of a representative”, ruling him out of the rest of the series. While he was unable to don national colours, Faulkner showed his worth for Lancashire as he guided it to the title in the Twenty20 Blast tournament. Cameron Boyce, the leg-spinner, is another of the exciting young men in the Australian camp.
Over in England’s side of the ring, it’s packed with plenty of explosive batsmen, including James Vince, who top-scored for Hampshire against Lancashire in the T20 Blast final with 69 runs on Saturday. The other potential debutant in the squad is Reece Topley. The tall left-arm seamer has been picking up wickets by the dozen for Essex this season.
The result of a single T20I is not likely to affect either of the sides, but there’s more than just a result at stake here, as both teams would hope to get their combinations right for the five ODIs, a format where Australia is the world champion, that will follow.
Teams (from)
England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes.
Australia: Steven Smith (capt), Ashton Agar, George Bailey, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Shane Watson, David Warner, Cameron Boyce.
Source: ICC