England face Australia at Lords in the Cricket World Cup on Tuesday and with England captain Eoin Morgan in the form he’s in, Australia must be worried. Not just for their place in the Cricket World Cup, but also the Ashes which will be contested here later in the summer. The records tumbled last week at Old Trafford – 25 sixes in an innings, highest ODI score ever achieved at Old Trafford, most sixes scored off one bowler, etc. Morgan’s score of 148 off 71 balls was a magnificent display, and Afghanistan were crushed by 150 runs. Not bad for a guy who had to walk off injured in the previous game.
Morgan is not carrying the team on his shoulders, he’s just doing an excellent job of leading them. His century was the fourth by an England player this World Cup, which is twice as many as any other team has managed to accumulate. It’s tough going from here, however – Australia, India and New Zealand are the teams they must play next, and their most likely companions in the final four.
Australia are in second place, on exactly the same score as England but behind by virtue of England’s Net Run Rate (which received a serious boost after the Afghanistan game), despite coming into the tournament with a flawed strategy. Before the competition began, Australia were banking on a spin-heavy bowling strategy. However, the going has been far better for pace bowlers (fast bowlers have taken 222 wickets in the tournament so far, as compared to spinners who have claimed just 62), to the extent that Australia’s spin bowling team, Nathan Lyon and Adam Zampa, have not been called upon for the last two games.
England vs Australia Betting Tips
- Australia to have the highest opening partnership: 10/11
- Joe Root to be top England batsman: 5/2
- Aaron Finch to be top Australia batsman: 33/10
England Team News
England may be without batsman Jason Roy, who was rested for the games against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka due to a tight hamstring. If he remains injured, then it could leave the door open for the very naughty Alex Hales. Hales, you’ll recall, was thrown out of the England squad last month after it emerged that he’d failed a test for recreational drug use earlier in the year. It’s a decision that’s very much still up in the air but seems unlikely to go Hales’ way. If it does not, James Vince is sure to step up.
England team line-up: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Australia Team News
Marcus Stoinis remains an injury worry for Australia due to a side strain. He’s been training hard in recent days and it is hoped that he can return to add balance to a team severely off-balance due to his departure. Mitch Marsh has been flown in, just in case, and assistant coach Brad Haddin is already singing the praises of Usman Khawaja, despite the fact that he’s had a pretty ordinary World Cup so far. Are Australia already preparing their runner’s up speech?
Australia team line-up: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Match Prediction
England have the momentum and the more settled team. If Stoinis can make himself healthy by Tuesday, the Aussies may be able to challenge for the top spot, but we think that the England team, especially under Morgan’s stellar leadership, will be just too strong.