England might have played some terrific cricket in the recently concluded Ashes, where they defeated Australia, but the home team is going to face a huge task when they face the Aussies in the upcoming one-off T20 and the five-match ODI series.
Prior to the fifty over format series, England face Australia in the only T20 match at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Monday and it is expected to be a huge game, considering the upcoming T20 World Cup to be played in India next year. Both the teams will use clashes such as these for preparing for the mega event in India.
With players such as David Warner, Steve Smith, Shane Watson, they have some solid batsmen who can tear apart the English bowlers with their batting exploits.
However, one is not sure about their opening pair, though, Warner could open the innings alongside Joe Burns, who looked good in the opening slot in their last ODI match against Ireland. With regular T20 skipper Aaron Finch recovering from a foot injury, Steve Smith will lead Australia.
Shane Watson, who could also don the openers' role if asked, will be a huge threat in the T20 format which is tailor-made for him, despite having been unimpressive in the Ashes. Watson's position in the Test squad may be uncertain, dark, but he is a key member of the Australian team in coloured clothing.
England resemble a different unit in the T20 format as compared to the Ashes side. The team will be led by Eoin Morgan, who is one of the most dangerous batsmen in world cricket when it comes to the shortest format of the game. England lack experienced players in their lineup for their only T20 fixture on Monday, hence players such as Moeen Ali, Joe Buttler, Ben Stokes need to shoulder the responsibility against Australia.
Some of the players in the English side are yet to cement their place in the T20 side, hence they can use this T20 match as a good platform to put forward a claim for the T20 World Cup team with a strong performance.
However, both teams will be eager for a victory in the T20 match in Cardiff as they can head into the five-match ODI series - which starts on 3 September - with confidence.
Complete Team Squad
Australia: Steve Smith (c), Ashton Agar, George Bailey, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (w), Shane Watson, David Warner, Cameron Boyce
England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (w), Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes
England vs Australia T20 Schedule
Venue: Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Date: 31 August, 2015
Time: 3pm local time (7:30pm IST)
