Two of cricket’s greatest rivals lock horns again on Wednesday morning (3:30am AEST) as England and Australia face off in the first of three T20’s. The Rose Bowl, Southampton will be the host venue in what should be a highly entertaining match. Jack Tobin provides a full preview, best bet, and prop bet for the first T20 below!
England vs Australia: 1st T20 Preview & Betting Tips
Southampton, Thursday 12th September, 3:30am AEST
England
Squad: Phil Salt, Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, John Turner
England have named a new look squad as they’re set to move in a new direction in their white ball setup after failing to defend both of their ODI and T20 World Cup titles in disappointing performances over the last two years. Coach Matthew Mott was a casualty after the 68 run loss in the T20 World Cup Semi Final, with Marcus Trescothick standing in as an interim coach before Brendon McCullum extends his duties to coach the limited overs sides alongside the Test side in 2025.
England will be without captain Jos Buttler for the T20 series due to a calf injury, with his availability for the ODI series yet to be determined. Phil Salt takes the reins as skipper, with Salt, Jofra Archer, Liam Livingstone, Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Reece Toply and Adil Rashed the only players in the squad for this series that featured at this year’s World Cup.
England haven’t played a T20I since the World Cup Semi Final, and will be looking for their young talent to add some explosiveness with the bat after scoring at a pedestrian rate in the World Cup. In four games against Test playing nations, England scored just 605 runs in 74.1 overs - a run rate of just 8.17.
Australia
Squad: Mitchell Marsh, Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Riley Meredith, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Like England, Australia have had an eye to the future with their personnel as Jake Fraser-McGurk and Cooper Conolly made their T20I debuts. Fraser-McGurk was the only disappointment for Australia, scoring 0, 16 and 0 against Scotland, after scoring 330 runs at a strike rate of 234 in the IPL. Matt Short and Josh Hazlewood have come into the squad after not featuring in Scotland while Nathan Ellis has returned to Australia after injuring his hamstring.
Australia comes into the series on the back of a 3-0 sweep over Scotland last week, with some exciting performances despite playing a side that clearly isn’t at their level. In the first game Travis Head and Mitch Marsh combined to set a world record 1/113 in the powerplay, in game two Josh Inglis broke the record for the fastest century by an Australian in T20I, while in game three Cameron Green scored 62* and took 3/35.
Australia’s batting against Scotland was outstanding, and they’ll be looking to bring their run rates across against England. Australia scored 505 runs at an average run rate of 11 runs per over across the three games, now the challenge comes at bringing that firepower against higher quality opposition.
Match Prediction
Game one looms as a feel out game for England, given they haven’t played any white ball cricket outside of The Hundred since the end of the T20 World Cup. Australia’s series against Scotland provided valuable preparation in similar conditions to what they will be facing in this series.
Although the squads are different, Australia clinically dismantled England in their last T20I in June, winning by 36 runs after scoring 7/201. England’s bowling attack lacks firepower outside of Adil Rashid, and if the Aussies can quell the leg spinner’s influence, they will put up a match winning score. Australia won the last T20I between the two teams at The Rose Bowl, as well as the last two ODI matches at Southampton.
Australia to Win
$1.64 (1 Unit)
Prop Bet
Adam Zampa loves playing against England, and was crucial in the World Cup fixture taking 2/28. Zampa has taken 2 or more wickets in three of his last five T20I’s against England, and has taken 3 or more wickets in seven straight ODI fixtures against England. England will look to be aggressive against Zampa, which will give the leggie plenty of opportunities.
Tip: Adam Zampa Top Australian Bowler ($4 at Ladbrokes)
