After plunging to new lows with a historic ODI series whitewash, Australia will hope to make a mark in the one-off T20I. Should they go on to lose this match as well, they will return empty handed from their tour of England, which will be another low for this beleaguered Kangaroo side.
That sets the context nicely up for the T20I between England and Australia under lights at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Wednesday, July 27th.
England – underlining white ball supremacy
England have had an excellent three weeks of the ODI leg, where they did almost everything right. Be it the opening partnerships from Jason Roy (304 runs) and Jonny Bairstow (300 runs) or the crucial hand from Jos Buttler down the order (275 runs), England were dominant all around.
Nothing signified their dominance than the performance of spin duo Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, who picked up 12 wickets each. It was not just the wickets, but the manner in which they kept the Aussie batsmen under a leash was the most commendable aspect of the series.
Will that guarantee a win in the T20I as well? That may not be the case, as England have shown in the Trans-Tasman tri-series earlier in the year that their T20I results aren’t proportional to their ODI dominance. This time around, though, they have a battered Australia side in sight and may just pile up more misery.
Australia – can they finish on a high?
‘Consistency’ isn’t a word that was associated with this Australian side in the recent past – especially in the ODI format. With captain Tim Paine struggling to score runs and justify his place in the side, it wasn’t a surprise that the visitors looked rudderless.
Barring Shaun Marsh (288 runs), there wasn’t any batsman in this side that rose to the occasion and led them out of trouble. Even with the ball, the inexperienced attack looked clueless under the continuous barrage of attack from England.
However, the T20I side has proven earlier in the year that they have the capability of starting afresh and surprising everyone. The likes of D’Arcy Short, Travis Head, Andrew Tye, and Alex Carey have had considerable Big Bash success that raises a flicker of hope for the visitors.
Stats
- Australia have won five of their last six T20Is against England.
- Australia have won both their T20Is played at this venue.
- Australia have won their last six completed T20Is.
- England have lost four of their last five T20Is.
- Travis Head has three fifties in his last five T20 innings.
Back the hard hitting Aussies
Australia to hit the most sixes
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Australia to win the match
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