England v Australia 1st ODI preview: Australia hope for a turnaround in coloured clothing

England v Australia 1^st ODI preview: Australia hope for a turnaround in coloured clothing: Australia’s 3-month tour of the British Isles will conclude with a 5-match ODI series against England, starting Thursday in Southampton. England have been simply awesome against the Aussies in the Ashes and the one of T20I which they won by 5 runs. The hosts will be looking to continue their good run in the upcoming ODI series beginning tomorrow. Australians who haven’t quite played their natural cricket so far will hope for an improved showing with the white ball.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you that ODI is a different game altogether from Test cricket. We saw of plenty of proof of this when India rolled over the English 3-1 in the ODI leg of their 2014 tour after looking dismal in the Tests that preceded. The Australians did the same in 2013 when they beat the hosts 2-1 in a rain hit series after losing the Ashes 3-1. The Aussies are the current world champions and the numero uno side in ODIs and England would do well not to take them lightly.

The last meeting of the two sides was in the inaugural match of the 2015 World cup where Australia thrashed England by 111 runs at the MCG. But this England side is unrecognizable from the World Cup disaster. Playing with freedom, flair and fire, Eoin Morgan’s men have looked a completely different outfit and displayed juvenile enthusiasm and aggression in their game.

Australia –

Australia only have 8 members of the team that won the World Cup earlier this year. Joe Burns who made his ODI debut against Ireland will partner Warner at the top of the order. The Aussies will be hoping for their ODI specialists Maxwell and Watson to come good while Mitchell Marsh will be eager to show his all-round skills. The pace attack looks menacing despite the absence of Mitchell Johnson. Cummins bowled well and clocked high speeds in the lone T20 international.

Xavier Doherty, their regular ODI spinner doesn’t find a place in the squad and Ashton Agar will lead the spin attack in his absence. Agar bowled particularly well in the recent tour to India with the A side and will want to cement his place. Mitchell Starc is not the world’s best one-day bowler for no reason. The swing king will look to jolt England early in the series. Starc has the best strike rate (23.1) and best average (18.3) for any ODI bowler with 50 or more wickets.

England –

Eoin Morgan had shown in the New Zealand series that England are willing to change their approach towards ODI cricket. They held their nerve in crucial situations to win against the Kiwis after being 2-1 down at one point of time. The hosts have made only one change to their squad against the Black Caps, resting Joe Root and bringing in Moeen Ali for him. Ali played a superb knock in the T20I and coupled with his bowling prowess, would be one to watch out for. The opening pair of Jason Roy and Alex Hales will look to get the hosts off to a flyer while Morgan, Stokes and Buttler will lend solidity to the lower middle order. With David Willey coming at number 9 England have a batting line up that could bail them out of any precarious position.

Pitch:

The Rose Bowl in Southampton often provides something for everybody. The new ball does swing and seam a bit but once the shine goes off its easier to bat. Spinners get purchase only if they are willing to take risks and flight the ball, an unseen phenomenon in limited overs cricket these days.

Last meeting at the ground

September 16, 2013, Australia 298 (Watson 143, Clarke 75, Stokes 5-61) beat England 249 (Bopara 62, Faulkner 3-38) by 49 runs.

Probable XI:

Australia: David Warner, Joe Burns, Steve Smith (c), George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Shane Watson, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Ashton Agar.

England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Billings, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Mark Wood, Steven Finn.