Australia and England continue to finalise their plans for the T20 World Cup on Wednesday when they head from Western Australia across to the capital in Canberra for the second game of three T20 slated between the two.
Although both teams will be using this match and the last one on Friday to prepare for the upcoming World Cup, we saw in the first game which England won that whenever these two meet there is an intent to win the game.
Australia
When you consider that they left their first-choice bowling attack away from Perth, Australia will have been encouraged by their performance in the opening game of this series. They went down in the end but their bowlers brought a fantastic England start back in the last five overs or so and they were in a position to win the game even without so many key players. They all return for this encounter so Australia should be feeling good about themselves.
The one thing Australia will need to do if they are going to make life easier for themselves in this match is break the opening partnership of England as quickly as they can. They will have the bowling resources to do that but they still need to do it. Australia will then use this match to try and fall on the best combination with the bat with Aaron Finch expected to open the batting here having featured in the middle order over the last week.
England
When you consider that England were playing in Australia less than a week after playing and winning a series in Pakistan, their display in the opening game was very encouraging, even more so when you factor in that a couple of batters were coming back from injury or an extended break and a couple of the bowlers were still finding their feet as well. That was their first match in the conditions and they hit the ground running which is all they can ask.
They will hope that having had the run in the conditions they will be an even stronger unit here. They might choose to bring a couple of bowlers into the mix given that the last two games of this series come within 48 hours of each other. England will want to bowl a little bit better than they did at Perth but to be fair when the push came to shove, on a ground which can be a nightmare to defend, England delivered the goods nicely.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account and bet £10 to get up to £20 in free bets! Perfect offer for this series! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Team News
Australia have recalled their strongest bowling unit so the likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood can all be expected to feature. Glenn Maxwell is another expected to return as Australia go in with their possible first-choice XI.
England are expected to give a return from injury to Chris Jordan, potentially in place of Mark Wood who isn’t getting two matches in succession at the minute as he continues his own return to top form. David Willey might also get an opening.
Betting
When you consider that there wasn’t much between these two sides in the opening game on Sunday and that Australia are going to look a whole lot stronger in this one and England potentially a touch weaker it is a little surprising that there are bookmakers out there who can’t split the two sides ahead of this contest. The other thing to factor into the equation is that England have been travelling through time zones as a squad whereas half of the Australia side haven’t bothered with the Perth and back trip.
Those are significant factors and when you consider that there was only eight runs between the two teams in the opening game then I’ve got to think that Australia are worth backing to win this second one. The other thing to factor into the equation was the England openers batted so well in Perth that the others didn’t really get much meaningful time in the middle whereas Australia have played three matches in the last week so are up to speed throughout the order. Australia should be favoured here.
Tips
Back Australia to beat England for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Sky Bet
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2022
