Today’s match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground may decide how successful England’sT20 World Cup campaign ultimately is. After their shock defeat to Ireland on Wednesday – by five runs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method – Jos Buttler’s side cannot afford to drop anymore points in the Super 12s. That means they will likely have to beat the three toughest opponents in Group 1: New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Australia to progress to the semi-finals.
Today, England take on the old enemy in a game that is likely to knock one of these sides out of the tournament. It is too early to know for sure if that will be the case but there are only five matches to play in the Super 12 stage and two defeats here could turn out to be a knockout blow. Australia currently sit below England in the group having been battered by New Zealand – who won by 89 runs – in their first match of the competition before suffering a scare against Sri Lanka on Tuesday despite romping home with 21 balls to spare.
That sets the stage nicely. Neither team is playing their best cricket but there are very few games as competitive in world cricket than England vs Australia. If England are to have any chance Buttler’s batters need to hit their stride and Ben Stokes has to turn around his shocking form. In four attempts they have never won a T20I at the MCG and there is no better time than now to do so.
Follow the action as England take on Australia in this crucial T20 World Cup match:
England vs Australia
-
Play due to start at 9am at the MCG but toss delayed
-
Both teams need to win to keep World Cup campaigns on track
-
England lost by five runs to Ireland last time out
-
Australia defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets
Australia defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets
08:56 , Michael Jones
Sri Lanka almost caused an upset when they took on Australia on Tuesday.
The Aussies won the toss and bowled first but couldn’t really restrict Sri Lanka throughout the innings. That said the visitors didn’t take off until the final two and a half overs where they scored 37 runs and finished with a total of 157.
Australia felt confident about chasing the total down but Aaron Finch was in terrible nick and scrambled his way to 31* from 42 balls leaving his partners to do the bulk of the hitting at the other end. David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell all chipped in with a few runs but it was Marcus Stoinis who won the game.
He came in in the 13th over with just 89 runs on the board. 18 balls later Stoinis had 59* and Australia won the game with 21 balls left to play. It was an incredible display of hitting and what could have been an embarrassing defeat for the Aussies turned into an easy victory.
Matthew Wade tests positive for Covid on eve of Australia vs England
08:50 , Michael Jones
Australia wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade has tested positive for Covid the day before his side’s crucial T20 World Cup clash against England at the MCG.
Wade is experiencing light symptoms according to Cricket Australia but, unless his condition worsens, he is still expected to feature on Friday in a showdown where the loser will be all-but eliminated.
International Cricket Council regulations state the Biosafety Advisory Group “will be the final arbiter as to the Covid status of any player and his consequential availability to participate in a match”.
Wade must travel to the match separately and change and train away from his team-mates after becoming the second Australian case this week, with Adam Zampa testing positive ahead of the Sri Lanka game.
The leg-spinner did not feature on that occasion after experiencing minor symptoms but Ireland’s George Dockrell has played against both Sri Lanka and England despite his positive Covid test.
Matthew Wade tests positive for Covid on eve of Australia vs England
Inspection due at 9.30am
08:45 , Michael Jones
There is a pitch inspection due in about 45 minutes time at 9.30am. Even if the game goes ahead it’ll be a shortened match with the minimum requirement being five overs a side.
England vs Australia
08:38 , Michael Jones
A quick note about today’s match. The toss has been delayed due to the conditions on the field. The rain has come down all day – forcing Ireland vs Afghanistan to get abandoned – but the ground staff are doing their best to get the playing surface fit for purpose.
It already looks to be a shortened match as the ground is that wet. Play was due to start at 9am but that is almost certain to get pushed back too.
Ireland beat England by 5 runs via DLS
08:34 , Michael Jones
England got a shock last time out when then took on Ireland at the MCG. Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bowl first but a lack of discipline from the seamers, especially Chris Woakes who struggled to find his rhythm, allowed Ireland to get off to a flyer. T
hey stormed to 103-1 from 11 overs but then failed to keep up that momentum.
Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone restricted them in the back part of the innings and kept the score down to 157 with Ben Stokes taking the last wicket in the final over.
What should have been a comfortable chase for England became anything but. Buttler was out on the second ball of the innings with Alex Hales and Ben Stokes quickly following.
Dawid Malan and Harry Brook tried to rebuild but did do slowly and England fell behind the rate needed for a win on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
When Brook and Malan both departed, the rain started to fall and Moeen Ali began to rain sixes of his own but he couldn’t get England ahead of the par score. They came off at 105-5 just five runs short of the desired DLS target.
Time ran out to restart the game and Ireland secured a historic World Cup victory.
England vs Australia
08:25 , Michael Jones
It’s a huge day for England and Australia but only one team can take the two points of offer from today’s match.
England have played four T20I games at the MCG and have never won here, including the game against Ireland on Wednesday, will they end that poor run this morning?
England ready for ‘massive challenge’ against Australia with World Cup on the line
08:21 , Michael Jones
Liam Livingstone believes a probable eliminator against Australia at the MCG is what could galvanise England cricket to reboot their stuttering T20 World Cup campaign.
After beating Afghanistan, England came a cropper in a shock rain-affected loss against Ireland and now must win their three remaining Super 12s fixtures to guarantee a semi-final place.
Defeat against the hosts and defending champions would almost certainly spell a group-stage elimination, although England go into the showdown having beaten their Ashes rivals in a T20 series this month.
England were 2-0 winners and were on course for a series clean sweep only for rain to force a no-result in the final match – and showers have been forecast for Friday evening’s fixture between the teams.
England ready for ‘massive challenge’ against Australia with World Cup on the line
England vs Australia early team news and predicted line-ups
08:17 , Michael Jones
England may mull changes to a bowling attack that didn’t quite get it right in the first ten overs against Ireland. Chris Woakes was lacking in his usual accuracy and new ball nip and could therefore be vulnerable – David Willey would be the likeliest option as a new ball specialist to replace him, though Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills are also in the squad.
Aaron Finch’s form will be a concern for Australia, though there is little to suggest that the captain will be excluded for this encounter. Several prominent voices, including Mark Waugh, have called for Pat Cummins to drop out of the side after back-to-back off nights in the defending champions’ opening two group fixtures. Adam Zampa should return in the place of Ashton Agar if he has overcome Covid.
Predicted line-ups
England XI: Jos Buttler (capt. & wk), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
Australia XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch (capt.), Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
England vs Australia
08:13 , Michael Jones
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the T20 World Cup from Australia.
England need to bounce back from a shock defeat to Ireland on Wednesday if they have any hopes of reaching the semi-final stage. They have two points from their first two Super 12 fixtures and will likely need to win their final three matches in order to get to the next round.
Today’s opponents are the tournament hosts and England’s oldest enemy in World cricket. Australia are in a similar predicament to England having lost their opening game to New Zealand by 89 runs. They then went on to defeat Sri Lanka earlier this week to get back on track but now it seems as though the loser of today’s game will, eventually, get knocked out of the competition.
This morning’s encounter is being played at the MCG but the weather may come into play. The early match between Ireland and Afghanistan has been abandoned without a ball being bowled but hopefully this crucial clash between England and Australia will get underway on time.
Play is scheduled to start at 9am.
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here