The One Day International series between Australia and England will draw to a close on Sunday with the 5th ODI to be the first ever match at the brand new Optus Stadium in Perth. A 60,000-seat, state-of-the-art facility will provide an amazing backdrop to the conclusion of this series.
After romping away with the first three ODIs, England were off the boil on a lively Adelaide wicket as Australia picked up their first win of the series to set the scoreline at 3-1 in favour of the visitors heading into the final match. After being sent into bat in the 4th One Day International, the English couldn’t handle the pace and bounce generated by quicks Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood, slumping to 5-8 in the early overs. They actually did well to post a moderately respectable total from that point, but even Australia’s fragile batting lineup managed to chase it down with a few wickets to spare.
The big question for this match will be the drop-in pitch and how it will play. We’re so used to fast and bouncy wickets at the WACA, but this new surface is a complete unknown. Hopefully it plays well and not as two-paced as the practice games there.
With Aaron Finch returning to Melbourne to nurse his hamstring, fellow Victorian Glenn Maxwell has joined the squad as cover and you would think is likely to get a run. With Travis Head putting in a superb performance opening the batting in Adelaide, he appears likely to maintain that role, with Maxwell perhaps slotting into the middle order. Mitchell Starc also missed the lineup in Adelaide, and it’s hard to see him being risked again in Perth.
The English will rue their top order failure in Adelaide as they ended up posting a respectable total thanks largely to Chris Woakes in the lower order. They just couldn’t handle the early movement, and will be hoping they don’t face the same in Perth. England have bragged about the super-aggression of their top order, but it really does backfire if there’s early movement. You can’t always bat on highways!
Despite that stumble, England have been the superior team this series, yet somehow, they will start outsiders for the fifth match in a row. It’s really baffling. Are Australian punters just that biased? If Australia had to chase 250 in Adelaide they might not have got there and we’d be staring at a 4-0 scoreline. England are a superior unit, and besides the first 10 overs in Adelaide, they have largely outplayed the Aussies. Once again we have to go with the value and bet on an English victory.
TIP: England to win - $2.10 at Ladbrokes
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