England may have won the Ashes against Australia, but the gulf between the two sides is as wide as it gets in one day internationals. Australia won both matches played so far very comfortable, the first by 59 run and the second by 64 runs.
But for England, this series is not about results, it is about building a site for the future, with the World Cup 2019, to be played in England a top priority. England have been looking at several new players and finding out who has it in them to last the long haul.
While it is true that England would be upset at a defeat in this series, it is not exactly the end of the world to lose to a side which is by far the best one day outfit in the world, not to mention the current World Champions in limited overs cricket.
As Trevor Bayliss, England’s coach explains, “We’ve a four-year plan. To do well and hopefully win the next World Cup, we have to have a depth of players and reserves ready to go. If we never give some of those guys on the fringes a go, we won’t know if they’ve got the goods.”
For the next match, England are only expected to make one change, but that is going to be a major one, with Jonny Bairstow coming in for the woefully out-of-form Joss Buttler. Buttler has been a shadow of his former self this season and seemingly cannot get a run. In Bairstow, England have an in-form batsman and it is a surprise that he wasn’t considered much earlier in the series.
England are expected to pick one of two new quick bowlers, either David Willey or Reece Topley. Neither is really fast, but both add variation to the England attack. Either Chris Woakes or Steven Finn is expected to miss out.
Australia are winning, but they are ravaged by injuries. David Warner had a broken thumb in the last match and he is expected to be out for a while now, and may even miss out the tour of Bangladesh. This means Australia have the chance to try out new players.
Shane Watson is out with a calf injury, and fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile has a hamstring strain. Aaron Finch is likely to play in place of Warner, and new players such as Peter Handscomb and John Hastings have been added to the squad. The young fast bowling trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson are expected to continue. Young Ashton Agar might get a game as well.
The Teams
England: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 James Taylor, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 David Willey, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Steven Finn
Australia: 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 George Bailey, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Ashton Agar, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 James Pattinson, 11 Pat Cummins.
Match Conditions
The Old Trafford track has the reputation of being one of the best batting surfaces in England. Spinners will come into play here as both England and Australia are likely to play two of them. The weather is expected to be cool, but no rains have been forecast.
Watch England take on Australia in the 3rd ODI at 6:30 PM on Tuesday live on Star Sports!
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