One Day International – Australia vs. England Tips and Preview, 19th November

Australia has a point to prove, and the first steps were taken on Thursday night.

For all the talk about the need to bring in fresh young talent to rejuvenate the Australian team, the old guard of David Warner and Steve Smith comfortably got them over the line with more than 80 runs each. On the back of three-wicket hauls from Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa and all seemed to go swimmingly from the Aussie veterans.

Where they go from here is interesting. Marnus Labuschagne was one batsman who didn’t get a start, and his determination to succeed in all forms of the game is clear for all to see. He is one player who could have a day out against an England attack showing some signs of fatigue after a successful T20 World Cup. Ditto Cameron Green, who has aspirations to be his country’s number-one all-rounder at all levels. He went wicketless in Adelaide but could step up to trouble England in this one.

Despite a poor start that was impossible to recover from, there are plenty of positives from the game from an England perspective. Dawid Malan posted one of his greatest innings in One Day Internationals with a breathtaking 134 as others fell around him. Malan is hungry after missing the T20 final and looks set for a colossal series here. He had no troubles with the Australian bowling attack and will be hard to stop in the next two games. Expect another considerable effort from him. Captain Jos Buttler played a cameo role further down the order than he has been in recent times but may have some say over where he fits in the batting line-up and may have a more prominent role earlier in this game.

Sam Curran didn’t play in game one after an exceptional T20 World Cup, but he would be a sure bet to be brought in for this game. His nippy left-arm seam brings a new element to the England bowling attack, and he could pose some problems for the Australians, as could Adil Rashid, who also missed game one.

While game one was the inevitable result of a weary but successful England team missing its Test stars against a backs-to-the-wall Australian side, this is now a different circumstance, and you can be sure that England will come out much harder in this game.