Australia vs England last summer down under was a no-contest; this time, though, the new-look Englishmen, bereft of their much-maligned former ODI captain, will look to make it a better fight as the Carlton Mid tri-series gets underway in Sydney on Friday.
England, bowing down to increasing pressure, decided to dump Alastair Cook from the ODI setup, with Eoin Morgan taking over as captain and Ian Bell pushed to the top of the order alongside Moeen Ali.
If the two warm-up games are anything to go by, it looks like a brilliant decision with Bell scoring runs for fun, while Ali has been in marauding form as well.
The two have taken to opening together quite well, with Bell looking like he has cemented his place at the top of the order -- for the first few matches of this tri-series at least -- with an outstanding 187 against Prime Minister's XI on Wednesday.
That is a huge bonus for England, after Bell was ignored for much of the seven-match series against Sri Lanka late last year.
"Coming out here I didn't know where I was going to bat or if I would start, so it was nice to have a good chat with Morgs [Eoin Morgan] and for him to say I would get first crack at opening," Bell said after his brilliant century.
"That filled me with a lot of confidence. It's nice to have a good start but the big stuff starts on Friday. I haven't thought about the World Cup, we want to play well in the tri-series, take it a game at a time.
"There were some good signs this week, some good things to take forward."
England eased to victories in both of their practice games, but they will know pretty well that the tri-series, and then the World Cup, starting with this match at the SCG against Australia, will be a completely different bat and ball game.
"We've had a great week and we want to start again on Friday," added Bell.
"We couldn't have asked for better preparation going into the tri-series. It was a good run out for the bowlers as well. A good week for us."
Australia go into the tri-series with plenty of injury worries, but the most important aspect for them will be to get their ODI specialists into top form and the Test players back into the one-day groove.
The Aussie batsmen made hay while the sun shone in the Test series against India and if the pitch in Sydney is going to be anything like the one we saw in the final Test match, then runs could very well be the order of the day.
Where to Watch Live
Get the First Innings Report and Score
The first ODI match of the tri-series is scheduled for a 2.20 pm AEDT (8.50 am IST, 3.20 am GMT) start with live TV coverage in India on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3 (Hindi) and Star Sports HD1. Audience in India can also watch the match online via free live streaming online on Starsports.com or via the Starspors Live Pro option..
Watch Match One of the Calrton Mid Tri-Series live in Australia on Channel 9, while the option to live stream is on Cricket Australia Live or the Cricket Australia Live App. Viewers in the UK can catch the ODI match live on Sky Sports 2 or via a live stream on Sky Go or Watch Sky Sports.
Australia vs England can be watched live by the audience in the USA on Willow TV while the match can also be live streamed on Willow TV Online. Viewers in the Middle East and North Africa can catch the match live on OSN or via live streaming online on OSN Play.
Team news: Australia: Mitchell Marsh will not take part in the first two ODIs at least after missing the last two Tests against India with a hamstring injury. The all-rounder, who will keep bowling to an absolute minimum, is hopeful of a return for the second match against England in Hobart.
"The plan is for me to be available for selection for the Hobart game but obviously I have got a few things to get past first," Marsh said on Tuesday. "At this stage I will be playing the first few games as a batter while I build my workloads up and go from there, hopefully if it all goes to plan I can start playing as an all-rounder at the back half of this series."
Michael Clarke will also not be available, with George Bailey taking over as captain. Bailey will want to get a few runs in this tri-series, because when/if Clarke returns, it is likely that one of Bailey or Steven Smith will have to sit on the bench.
Fast bowler of Indian origin Gurinder Sandhu, who has been called up as cover along with Kane Richardson, will hope for a debut at his home ground, with Mitchell Johnson likely to be rested.
England: There is a slight doubt over James Anderson's availability after the swing bowler picked up a knock. England will not want to take any unneeded risks with their main players, especially with plenty of fast bowling options available to them.
Confirmed lineups: Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Steven Smith, George Bailey (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty.
England: Ian Bell, Moeen Ali, James Taylor, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Jos Buttler, Ravi Bopara, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn.
