The remarkable England and Ireland tour for the Australian cricket team will end with the 5th and final One Day International (ODI) at Old Trafford on Sunday. With the two teams locked at 2-2, it will be a game of high stakes with the winner claiming a series victory.
The hosts have had a wonderful summer – one for their own highlights reel. Having tamed Australia in two different formats already, it is a chance for the ODI side to complete the hat trick. It would also be their first bilateral one-day series win against their arch-rivals since 1997.
The back-to-back victories in Game 3 and 4 of the series have certainly put Eoin Morgan’s side firmly in the driver’s seat in terms of confidence and momentum. Having already come across as an aggression-first leader, Morgan would love to add another scalp to further enhance his leadership resume.
Steve Smith (pictured) and his side must be wondering why they let the England side come back from the dead. They had the hosts at their mercy with a 2-0 lead in the series but the weary side, smarting from a long tour, let loose their grip. Now with a winner-takes-all match, Smith must be worried of his team’s will to win.
Smith must rally his troops for one last time, or else he runs the risk of seeing Australia another trophy head to England.
Smith and the selection panel need to make a decision on playing Mitchell Starc who was rested in the fourth ODI. Smith would also love more responsibility from his top order to ease the scoring burden on himself.
For England, Jason Roy has been the story of the series with consistent performances at an incredible strike rate. However we favour Morgan in the middle order to edge him as England’s top scorer at odds of $3.75 at Sportsbet.
Pat Cummins is the revelation for the Aussies with his fearsome pace and knack of taking wickets at the right moment. He is worth playing again as Australia’s leading wicket taker so we’ll jump into the odds of $3.50 at Sportsbet.
It is a very rare chance for the hosts to win an ODI series against their arch-rivals and World Champions. The momentum is also with them but expect the Aussies to fight back – especially with the series on the line. The bookies can’t split them so we’ll take the value on the Aussies at $1.90 on Sportsbet.
The 5th ODI kicks off at 7:30pm AEST on Sunday night and should offer some compelling viewing into the evening, and a few red eyes at work on Monday!
