Trans-Tasman tri-series 2018, AUS vs ENG, 3rd T20I Preview: Red hot Australia aim for a place in the final

A certain Glenn Maxwell showed why the world rates him so highly in these two sides’ previous meeting and Australia managed to win that game easily. He registered his second T20I century and also returned with figures of 3/10 with the ball, which is the most a player can ever contribute in a T20 game. Clearly, the stage is all set for a cracker of a contest and the MCG hosting this game is just a beautiful icing on the cake.

After winning the ODI series so effortlessly, the English are struggling a bit in the shortest format. The Aussies have won the first two games very easily and if they can win this one, they’ll be in the finals even before the commencement of the New Zealand leg. David Warner is leading his side exceedingly well and it’ll be interesting to see how this game will pan out for him.

Morgan’s key weapons for this game will be their top 3, who have been in good touch ever since they stepped in Australia. Jos Buttler has been performing well, but he needs to be more consistent to earn a status as one of the best in the world. Going by the forms of these two sides, it’ll be very unsurprising to see the hosts running away with the game.

Head to Head

Total Games Played – 14, Australia won – 8, England won – 5, No Result -1

Playing Combinations

Australia

The Aussies might enter the game with an unchanged playing XI. David Warner and the BBL fame D’Arcy Short will be opening the batting, with the very explosive Chris Lynn at number 3. The inform Glenn Maxwell might come at number 3 as well, considering a fact that Lynn is misfiring. Or else, he will bat at 4 and the next in line would be Travis Head, Alex Carey and Ashton Agar.

Andrew Tye and Billy Stanlake form a brilliant duo and both these fast bowlers have done very well in the first two games. Kane Richardson and Marcus Stoinis are the other seam bowling options for Warner, to go with two spinners in Ashton Agar and Glenn Maxwell.

Probable XI: David Warner (C), D’Arcy Short, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Travis Head, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Kane Richardson, Andrew Tye, Billy Stanlake

England

Jason Roy and Alex Hales will be opening the innings together, with the on song Dawid Malan coming in at three. They have a couple of floaters in David Willey and Jos Buttler, who can literally bat at any position. The other middle order batsmen are skipper Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings.

Liam Plunkett and Mark Wood will be accompanied by the very exciting Tom Curran. Curran registered an unforgettable 5-fer in the ODI series and showed great potential. David Willey offers variety with his left-arm seam bowling and Adil Rashid will be the only spinner for Morgan.

Probable XI: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan (C), Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Billings, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Tom Curran, Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood

Focus will be on

Chris Lynn (Australia)

There were a lot of raised eyebrows when Lynn bagged a massive Rs. 9.6 crore package in the IPL despite knowing how injury prone he is. Nevertheless, he possesses the ability to win one out of every 3-4 games he plays, that’s how amazing a talent he is. He was dismissed cheaply in the previous game and would want to compensate for it with a big performance in this game.

Alex Hales (England)

Alex Hales and Chris Lynn share a similar story. Unlike Lynn, Hales is not an injury prone cricketer and thus has no real excuse for his poor run. A match-winner in his own ways, Hales has been one of the key members of this rejuvenated English side and his skipper needs him to perform big time. This will also be his 50th T20I game for England, a landmark occasion which he would love to commemorate with a stellar knock.

StatAttack

2 – England lost both the T20I games played at MCG.

50 – Alex Hales will be playing his 50th T20I game for England.