AUS v ENG: T20 WC PREVIEW

Its a virtual knockout game at the BIG G as Australia take on England. Everything has went in favour of Australia in last few days. England suffered a shock defeat against Ireland and NZ -AFG game was a washout.

No team has been successful in defending their title and no team has won a T20WC on their home soil. Australia had the worst possible start to their campaign by losing to NZ by 90 odd runs. Such a huge defeat could knock them out of tournament if NRR comes to play at the fag end of the Super 12. Aus were in a spot of bother against SL after a slow start and Warner's early departure. Stoinis' blitzkreig which resulted in the fastest 50 by an Australian in t20is ensured Australia fetch 2 points on the board.

A series loss against IND, ENG, and a closely fought series against WI has left Australia with too many questions in the run up to the tournament. While the inclusion of Tim David and Cam Green prior to the World Cup has rewarded them with too many options in the batting line up but there are stil some chinks in their armour. The skipper doesn't warrant a place on merit and has been struggling to lay bat on the ball since quite a while. Their fortunes largely depend on the start given by Warner.

England is yet to beat an European side in t20 wcs. Its most likely they would have got over the line had the rain not spoilt the party but the skipper was graceful enough to accept that they were poor in the 1st innings in the 1st 10 overs with the ball and that cost them the game. With rain always on radar the way Malan and Brook batted was inexplicable. It has made things interesting in Group A and one team is almost out of the tournament if NZ wins all their remaining games.

Probable XIs

Australia

Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa/Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood

England

Jos Buttler (c, wk), Alex Hales, David Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes/ Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark wood

Venue

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Total matches 20
Matches won batting first 8
Matches won bowling first 11

Average 1st Inns scores 141
Average 2nd Inns scores 128

Lowest total recorded 74/10 by IND vs AUS

Highest score chased 172/5 by SL vs AUS

Lowest score defended 127/10 (18.4 Ov) by AUS vs PAK

Head-to-head

England leads by 11 -10

Batting 1st: 7-5

Batting 2nd: Australia leads by 5-4

Last 5: England leads by 4-1

Most runs - Aaron Finch (619)

Most wkts - Aadil Rashid (12)

Recent Form

(Last five matches)

England

L W NR W W

Australia

L NR L L W

Match Ups

Warner vs Wood: 31 off 21 balls, 1 dismissal

Stoinis vs Wood: 36 off 28 balls, 2 dismissals

Maxwell vs Rashid: 72 off 44 balls, 2 dismissals

Stoinis vs Rashid: 42 of 31 balls, 3 dismissals

Maxwell vs Woakes: 5 of 10 balls, 2 dismissals

Buttler v Starc: 65 off 37 balls, 1 dismissal

Malan v Starc: 53 off 35 balls, 2 dismissals

Hales v Hazlewood: 17 off 21 balls, 3 dismissals

Buttler v Cummins: 39 off 33 balls, 1 dismissal

Malan v Cummins: 42 off 29 balls, 1 dismissal

Form Update

(Last 5 innings)

Key Players & Fantasy Picks

David Warner

The man of the tournamnet of last t20 wc, a t20 legend who scores atleast 500-600 runs every season in the Indian t20 league. In simpler words, a run machine, who would walk into the starting 11 of any t20 side. Warner looked in great touch coming into the wc with 50s against WI and ENG. So far he has failed to make any mark in the tournamnet and was unlucky the way he got out against NZ. An opener should always be your 1st choice pick in a fantasy XI and if he is a player named David Warner then it should be an automatic choice.

Jos Buttler

Similar to Warner, Eng have their own run machine in Jos Buttler. It has been an incredible last 12 months for Jos Buttler who scored a 100 in last t20 wc, some 850 odd runs in the IPL with 4 100s and won the man of the match against the same opponents at Perth a couple of weeks back. Jos also keeps wkts which could further fetch you decent points .

Mark Wood

Almost every time he has played since returning from injury, whether it was in the Pakistan series, Australia series, or World Cup, he has breathed fire. Since September, he has picked 14 wkts in 6 games and is clocking 150+ every now and then. He is the perfect candidate to take down Australia's line-up.

Sam Curran

A couple of months ago, Curran wasn't a sure shot starter in the 11 but with plethora of injuries he got to feature in most of the games since the Pak series and has picked up 19 wkts so far since then. He has regularly picked wkts in death overs and also posseses great potential with the bat.

Fantasy XI