As we march into the final game of an eventful and very fruitful summer for English cricket, which should decide the series between England and Australia, Captain Eoin Morgan sounds very confident: “If momentum does exist then it is with us. We managed to steal a bit of it while we were in Manchester. I think confidence is a contributor to that. Going into Sunday the guys are full of confidence and we are really looking forward to it.”
Morgan has every right to be confident as he has led his team from the front. He has got over 700 runs this summer for England, which is just behind’s Andrew Strauss’ record. Morgan is a man transformed and captaincy seems to have brought out the best in him. Credit must be given to the England selectors and the team director Andrew Strauss for persisting with him, despite the poor show at the last World Cup.
Under Morgan and a team full of youngsters, England are much different from the side that played so poorly in the World Cup held in April. This team is fearless and has a never-say-die spirit, which one wouldn’t normally associate with the England cricket team.
Traditionally, an England team that went behind 2-0 at the start of a series would have given up and lost easily. But not this bunch of young and fearless cricketers. It has been a revelation to see England make a comeback and tie the series 2-2 with the decider to be played later today. It has been a phenomenal performance by the English boys, and all the credit should go to the new management, led by Trevor Bayliss.
What about Australia? Australia look exhausted. Already half a dozen permanent fixtures in the Aussie set up have announced retirement and half a dozen more are either injured or not considered good enough to represent their country. This leaves us with a team that is mentally tired, exhausted and just wants to go back home, after what has been a bitterly disappointing English summer.
One of the few standout performers for Australia has been young fast bowler Pat Cummins, who has bowled with raw pace and aggression. At times, he reached speeds of 96 mph.
Cummins said he and his teammates wanted to leave England on a high and win this crucial match at Old Trafford: “We really wanted to come here and finish off the series and give us some breathing space for Manchester.. We played it like a final, but the good thing is Sunday will be a final and we’ve played a lot of them and been quite successful.”
For England, the choice will be between Steven Finn and Mark Wood. Wood has struggled to impose himself in limited overs cricket. For Australia, Ashton Agar will play in place of Marcus Stoinis. John Hastings was expensive at Headingley and will probably be replaced.
The Teams
England: 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 James Taylor, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Liam Plunkett, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 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 John Hastings, 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Pat Cummins
Match Conditions
It’s a day game at Old Trafford, so conditions will be a lot different from the previous matches that were played under lights. There will be an early morning swing, which the side bowling first should be able to exploit. Spinners should expect help in the middle overs as well. Fortunately, the weather looks perfect and no rains are in the forecast.
Watch England take on Australia in the 5th and last ODI at Old Trafford, Manchester, starting at 3 PM today, live on Star Sports!
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