AUS vs ENG 2nd T20 Match Prediction

AUS vs ENG Team Previews

Australia

When the news hit that Australia would rest all of its major bowlers for the first T20 game against England (including Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Glenn Maxwell), many were surprised but not completely taken aback.

After all, the T20 World Cup is right around the corner and Australia needs to ensure that its players are well-rested for the tournament. Still, when all those fantastic bowlers are on the sidelines, as well as star batsmen Steve Smith (not forgetting Maxwell’s talent with the bat), you must expect a loss.

And lose they did, as the Aussie bowlers got pummelled around the ground by Buttler and Hales – making it all too clear that Australia needs experienced bowlers against a tough foe like England.

There was a bright spot, as fast-medium bowler Nathan Ellis took a very impressive 3/20 in four overs. Ellis is hardly new to Aussie cricket fans, but he’s only played in five T20s so far. However, he’s taken wickets in every game and boasts a solid 15/128 record for his T20 career.

Despite Australia resting many of its big-name bowlers, they very nearly pulled out a victory against England thanks to the batting. Unsurprisingly, it was David Warner who kept things close with his 73 runs from 44 balls (8 fours and 2 sixes). There were also solid contributions from Stoinis (35) and Marsh (36).

One of the most notable let-downs was Cameron Green, who finished the match with a dismal one run, as well as giving up 38 runs and taking no wickets in three overs as a bowler. Green might not be included in the T20 World Cup side, but those numbers have to be better.

England

English players might have raised their eyebrows when hearing that Australia was resting many of its best bowlers for the first match, but the win was no fluke.

It was great to see captain Jos Buttler return from injury and put up a massive 68 runs from only 32 balls (8 fours and 4 sixes). What easily swung the match was the career-defining performance from Alex Hales, who picked up 84 from 51 balls (12 fours and 3 sixes).

Hales looked sublime at the crease and continues to add to his impressive T20 resume. The opener has knocked up 1,858 runs in 67 T20 games, with an average of 30.96.

The rest of England’s middle and lower order batsmen didn’t reach 15 runs, but they barely needed to, as it was Buttler and Hales pulling most of the weight.

Stokes and Brook were a bit unimpressive, but the second T20 match should allow them to fix mistakes and attune themselves to the Aussie pitches.

On the bowling side of things, we’re excited to see more of what Mark Wood can achieve, as the fast bowler came away from the contest with 3/34 in four overs.

Wood already has numbers of 35/699 in 22 matches, but if he keeps up this type of performance then there’s no knowing how lethal England’s bowling can become.