It’s the big one – England versus Australia, and while we all hope for a good match, the weather hasn’t been kind to Australia. Both the group matches they have been involved in so far – against New Zealand and Bangladesh, were washed off.
Australia must win this match to progress to the next round. Any other result would mean that they would go out of what has been a truly disappointing tournament for them. Even their warm-up match prior to this was washed out, so ominous Australia’s stay in England been. But the players have kept themselves busy with non-cricketing issues, such as getting into confrontation with the Australian Cricket Board for a higher pay package.
[table id=1 /]
So this has not been Australia’s tournament so far. The Met Office in the UK predicts showers in the morning and evening, and throughout the day. This means it is very unlikely that we are going to have a full-day’s match. One only hopes that we get enough cricket to see one of the two teams getting a result. Anything less would be a travesty.
Darren Lehmann, the coach of Australia said, “You can’t do much about it. You can’t control the weather, so for us it’s simple. We have to win the next game. That’s all we can do”
As for England, they would want to focus on their own game rather than worry too much about knocking out Australia. Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, said, “Our motivation is purely on keeping momentum going and playing well. We think we’re still learning, still trying to be as good as we can be. Who we’re playing on Saturday is irrelevant. It’s case of us continuing to do well.”
So basically, England are through to the next semi-finals, regardless of what happens in this game. If they win, they will be joined by Bangladesh, who beat New Zealand last night. If they lose, they will be joined by Australia. England have nothing to lose and can just give it their all in this game without any pressure.
England would be worried about Jason Roy, though, who has struggled for them. The question remains whether he will be replaced. Jake Ball has done well, replacing Chris Woakes as the new ball bowler.
Australia may decide to play the marauding opening batsman Chris Lynn, but that remains to be seen.
The Teams
England: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Jake Ball.
Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Moises Henriques, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Travis Head, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood.
Match conditions
Expect it to rain in Birmingham throughout the match. One only hopes to get a full day of cricket, but that is unlikely. The overcast condition should help seam bowlers.
Watch England play Australia today at 3:00 pm on Star Sports!
[table id=16 responsive=”tablet” /]
