There wouldn’t have been too many people predicting that Australia would head into their World Cup clash with England top of the table ahead of the tournament, but that is how things stand.
Tournament favourites, England have played sublime cricket at times but lapses in focus have cost them dearly in matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Cricket World Cup | Tuesday 25 June 2019 | England vs Australia | Lord’s, London | 11:30
To Win Match
England 72/100
Draw 40/1
Australia 23/20
England
England’s dismal chase against Sri Lanka has left the team under pressure from the chasing pack but victory against Australia will pull them level on points with the old enemy.
The collapse at Headingley underlined the team’s rigidity when it comes to their aggressive approach to batting. When it works, it works well but when it fails they look like an ordinary side again.
Positives for England were that Ben Stokes continued his good form and also his commitment to doing his utmost to get his side over the line and the bowling performance was spot on led by Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.
The Australian side England face is far from the sorry outfit that were whitewashed during their last bilateral ODI series on the island and the hosts will need to bring their A-game to the home of cricket.
Australia
At the centre of Australia’s revival has been the stunning return of David Warner who has cut the figure of a man determined to make amends. Warner leads the early runscorers and has already struck two hundreds.
Skipper Aaron Finch has also found his best touch to give Australia the best opening pair in the tournament. Finch has scored 396 runs in six games while Warner has pasted 447.
With the ball in hand, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have been inspired while allrounder Nathan Coulter-Nile has provided grit with the bat and carried his weight in the bowling attack.
Australia haven’t faced any of the other top four sides in the World Cup as yet, apart from their loss India, so the meeting with England will go a long way to gauging whether they can challenge for the trophy itself.
The Australians have enough match-winners in their ranks to trouble any side but the English should have plans in place to stop them.
Verdict: England
The hosts should still have the quality to beat the in-form Aussies.
Written by James Richardson for @Hollywoodbets
