ENG vs AUS 2nd Match Prediction

ENG vs AUS Team Previews

England

England will be disappointed with the outcome of the first match as they lost by a big margin of 28 runs. However, there were some positives for them in the game and the team will look to build upon them going ahead.

While the bowling during the PowerPlay was pretty ordinary on Wednesday, the English bowlers managed to pull back towards the middle and death overs to limit the visitors to a par score. Saqib Mahmood was the best seam bowler for the team, picking up 2 wickets, and is likely to retain his place in the attack alongside Jofra Archer and Reece Topley.

Sam Curran didn’t have the best of times in the middle but given his all-round abilities, he will need to play a pivotal role.

The spinners were excellent, with Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone picking up 4 wickets between them and were also very economical. England might look to attack Australia with spin a lot more and perhaps in the powerplay as well.

The weakest link for the hosts appears to be their batting. Without the experience of Jos Buttler and Bairstow, a lot of responsibility will fall on the likes of Phil Salt, Will Jacks, and Liam Livingstone. There were as many as 3 debutants in the shortest format viz. Jordan Cox, Jamie Overton, and Jacob Bethell. 

Salt seems the clear leader of this batting attack with Livingstone now the senior statesman of the side. Any one of these England batters can be a match winner on his day but there is no doubt that they have a tough challenge against the Australian bowlers. 

<br />  

Australia

Australia seems unstoppable at the moment. After whitewashing Scotland in its backyard, they have made a winning start to this tour as well and are one win away from claiming the series.

Travis Head continues to be in brilliant form as he slammed his 2nd half-century in 4 matches. He was 15 off 11 deliveries before taking 30 off his next six deliveries! Matthew Short played a blazing knock of 41 runs from just 26 balls and has made a strong case for being made a permanent opening partner of Head. The opening pair will once look to give the team a strong start.

The middle order suffered a bit of a collapse in the previous match. Josh Inglis, Marcus Stoinis, and Cameron Green did get a good start but were unable to convert them into big scores, while Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, and Sean Abbott failed to get to double-digit scores.

Nevertheless, the team has plenty of depth in its batting and the focus seems to be on strike-rates rather than total scores. That is how modern T20 cricket works.

Abbott was brilliant with the ball and along with Josh Hazlewood, makes up for a strong seam attack. Bartlett picked up a niggle in the previous match and could miss this match. Adam Zampa remains the only full-time spinner on the team. With Stoinis, Green, Short, and even David if needed, Australia can afford to play a long batting lineup and still have multiple bowling options. 

<br />