Australia won the last match played against England too easily for comfort. In particular, England would be seething at how the David Warner dominated their attack, scoring 127, in quick time, not only winning the match at Sydney, but also getting an extra bonus point.
England too, got a bonus point of their own following the clinical massacre of the Indian batting line-up by James Anderson and Steven Finn. Finn seems to have got back to his best, and he could well be what England have missed all along – a true blue fast bowler, who makes the batsmen hop.
Steven Smith will take over the captaincy for Australia because of the suspension of George Bailey because of slow over rate, which is sad because it was not just the fault of the captain, everyone in the team played a part in slowing things down as well. Smith cautioned his teammates against being overconfident against the England side and praised them for their outstanding performance against India.
Smith: “England played a very good game the other day against India. It was pretty much a full-package victory for them. They’re a quality side with some very dangerous players so we’re going to have to be on our best to beat them.”
Eoin Morgan, the England captain, was ebullient after his side’s smart display against the Indian team, which puts them back in contention for the Carlton Mid Tri-Series. He has received a plenty of support in his captaincy from senior players in the England side such as James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ian Bell.
Bell even took on the responsibility of addressing the media, filling in for his captain. Speaking about his team’s win against India, Bell said, “I don’t really know why we put it all together, but it’s a good sign. If we start doing that more consistently, we’re a dangerous side. In these conditions with the extra bounce we’ll be very competitive.”
Clearly, England are starting to get it together and have found the nucleus of what promises to be an exciting side. With all-rounder Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan, Jos Butler, Ian Bell, Joe Root – the batting is world class, and the bowling even better, with James Anderson leading a pace attack also containing Stuart Broad, Steven Finn and Chris Woakes.
For Australia, we expect Moises Henriques, Shaun Marsh and Cameron White to take the spots vacated by the injured Shane Watson, David Warner and the suspended George Bailey. Xavier Doherty will be the extra spin bowler. England will remain unchanged from the last match.
Team news
Australia: 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Cameron White, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Brad Haddin (wk), 7 Moises Henriques, 8 James Faulkner, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Pat Cummins, 11 Xavier Doherty.
England: 1 Ian Bell, 2 Moeen Ali, 3 James Taylor, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn.
Match conditions
The Hobart pitch has always been a belter and we expect a high 300+ score in both innings of the game. Showers are likely, though, so we may have a rain curtailed match.
Watch England take on Australia live on Star Sports at 8:50 am, this Friday, 23rd January.
