England are all set to clash against Australia in the 3rd ODI of the five-match series at Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday.
Having lost the first two ODIs, England will be looking to bounce back strongly in this series, and for that they will have to sport the same attacking brand of cricket that they had taken up after bowing out from the group stages of the ICC World Cup 2015 in Australia.
The second ODI saw Australia beating England comprehensively by 64 runs at Lord's on Saturday. But that ODI will be remembered for the Ben Stokes dismissal, after the all-rounder was given out for obstructing the field. Stokes tried to stop a ball with his hand when Mitchell Starc took a shy at the stumps.
Although, Stokes later commented that he was trying to protect himself from getting hit, the third umpire thought otherwise and he was given out. This further spurred the rivalry between the two sides.
Australia have been hit by injuries, but they remain a stgrong unit. While they will miss the power of David Warner and Shane Watson for the remainder of the series, Aaron Finch is set to replace Warner at the top. Finch has been declared fit to play and he will be a crucial batsman at the top of the order for the Aussies.
Watson's replacement is likely to be John Hastings, who has been called to join the squad for the remaining three matches of the series. Nathan Coulter-Nile will also be missing the rest of the series as he sustained an injury as well. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson are likely to bear the pace baton for the Aussies.
England's recent resurgence has run into an Australia wall, and Steve Smith will look to wrap this series up with a third-straight win. In their last 12 meetings in the 50-over format, Australia have emerged victorious 11 times. England are in danger of going below Bangladesh in the ICC ODI rankings soon if they don't pull their socks up.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) selectors have decided to make a few change to the side. Jos Buttler has been replaced by Jonny Bairstow for the rest of the three matches, and England coach Trevor Bayliss has backed this decision. Left-arm quick David Willey might also sneak into the playing XI. England might tweak their seam attack ahead of the third ODI at Manchester, as their bowling has looked ordinary in this series so far.
Meanwhile, the weather is likely to remain cool and dry in Manchester, and one can expect a run feast on the Old Trafford wicket on Tuesday.
Expected lineups for 3rd ODI:
England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, James Taylor, Eoin Morgan (capt), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Liam Plunkett, Steven Finn.
Australia: Aaron Finch, Joe Burns, Steven Smith (capt), George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade (wk), Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Pat Cummins.
Where to Watch Live
The 3rd ODI between England and Australia is scheduled for a 2:30 pm local time (7 pm IST, 9:30 am EST and 11:30 pm Australian Time) start and the live coverage inIndia will be available in Star Sports 1 and Star Sports HD1. The match can be streamed live on StarSports.com and Hotstar.com.
Viewers in the UK can tune into Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports HD 2. The live streaming option will be available on SkyGo.
Viewers in Australia can watch the 1st ODI between England and Australia on the Nine Network and stream the same on Cricket.com.au.
Cricket fans in US can switch to ESPN 3 and live stream the match on WatchEspn.
