So often it seems that Australia lose an Ashes series in England and then win the one-dayers that follow. Perhaps they feel the need to prove themselves after such a defeat, perhaps England take their foot off the gas, or perhaps Australia are simply a better ODI side.
Whatever the case, Australia’s Ashes disappointments in 2009 and 2013 were followed by victories in the ODI series. In 2005, they also beat England in the one-dayers, though they came before the Ashes loss. And they have started this series in the same vein, with a big win in the first ODI in Southampton to follow on from their Ashes defeat. It is, of course, no consolation, but Steven Smith and his men will nevertheless hope to retain that winning feeling at Lord’s.
At the Ageas Bowl, Australia’s strong top-order batting set them on the path to victory, although it took some late hitting from Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh to really push the target up into challenging territory after a collapse. All the same, their 305 for 6 was the kind of score that England could have overhauled, especially when they reached 152 for 2 in the 27th over.
But Australia’s impressive fast-bowling unit put the brakes on, and showed that despite some personnel changes since the World Cup triumph in March, they remain an imposing one-day unit. If they can make it 2-0 on Saturday, it’s a long way back for England.
Form guide
(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England LWWLL
Australia WWWWW
In the spotlight
Four wickets was a fine return for Adil Rashid in Southampton, even if two did come off full tosses. His legspin had the Australians guessing and given their struggles against quality slow bowling in the past, he could be a key man throughout the remainder of the series.
Things couldn’t be going much worse for Shane Watson right now. Dropped from the Test side during the Ashes, he then missed an attempted kick to keep the ball off his stumps in the T20 in Cardiff and was bowled, and in Southampton was the run-out victim of a bad call from his partner Matthew Wade. Surely he must be due for a change in fortunes. Surely.
Teams news
England are unlikely to panic after defeat, but could look at rejgging the pace attack. Liam Plunkett and David Willey are both in the squad and would offer different challenges: Plunkett extra pace and Willey the left-arm angle.
England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 James Taylor, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Steven Finn
Australia are unlikely to change their winning side. Should they wrap the series up early they might consider debuts for Ashton Agar and Marcus Stoinis, but they will be reluctant to tinker just yet.
Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 George Bailey, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Shane Watson, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Marsh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 11 Pat Cummins
Pitch and conditions
In the past decade, only once has 300 been scored in a one-day international at Lord’s. It just so happens it was in the most recent one, when Sri Lanka’s 300 for 9 batting first was a winning total last year. The forecast for Saturday is for a fine day and a top of 18C.
Stats and trivia
Australia have won their past six ODIs against England
England won the most recent Lord’s ODI between these two teams, in 2012, but Australia had won four in a row before that
England are sixth in the current ICC ODI rankings, only one point ahead of Bangladesh
Matthew Wade needs 18 runs to become the fifth Australian wicketkeeper to reach 1000 in ODIs
Quotes
“Australia put us under the pump, but I think we’re a better side than that.”
Eoin Morgan, after England were bowled out for 246 in Southampton
“It’s nice to win … especially in a five-game series and it’s really back-to-back, all the games. To get a win is really important for us and hopefully we can take the momentum down to London and keep winning.”
Matthew Wade, after Australia’s victory in the first ODI
