India will hope Australia do them a favour by beating England for the second straight time when the two old rivals face off again in the tri-series.
The match is of interest to all three teams, particularly India, because if England pick up a win against Australia, especially one with a bonus point, their hopes of making the final of the tri-series will be diminished considerably.
From England's viewpoint, this match comes at a perfect time after their crushing win over India, when they bowled them out for a measly 153 and romped to the target in less than 28 overs.
England's bowlers were the main men in that victory, particularly James Anderson and Steven Finn, who picked nine of the ten Indian wickets amongst them.
The form of Finn, in particular, will please England, who know the importance of having the fast bowler in tune heading into the World Cup, with Finn being someone with plenty of pace and who can generate bounce as well on the hard Australian wickets.
"We have worked together a reasonable amount this tour so far," said Anderson. "He [Finn] has worked so hard off the field trying to get himself back to the form we know he can produce.
"Everyone was delighted for him; it was a fantastic performance from him.
"But, saying that, he is a very humble and honest guy and knows it is just one performance and he has got a lot of hard work to try and keep improving on that."
While England were dominant against India at the Gabba, they will need another 10/10 performance in Hobart if they are to stop the Australian juggernaut. The home team have looked outstanding so far in this tri-series, beating both England and India in their opening two matches, with their batsmen and bowlers coming to the fore.
However, the team will have a different look for this match against England on Friday, with David Warner rested – probably to take him out of the firing line, even if a slight hamstring problem has been stated as the official reason – George Bailey suspended and Shane Watson also ruled out.
"He bowled this morning," Smith said of Watson on Thursday. "I think he's just a little bit tight. I don't think it's anything too major. I think it's more a precautionary measure to make sure he's right for the World Cup."
That means players outside the original World Cup 15 will get a chance to shine, with Cameron White and Shaun Marsh called up into the squad for the tri-series match against England, while Steven Smith, who revelled in Test captaincy in the series against India, will take over the skippering role in the absence of Bailey, who copped a suspension owing to Australia's slow over rate in their last match.
While Marsh, White and Brad Haddin, who also threw his name in the ring having batted at the top before for Australia, can open alongside Aaron Finch, Smith confirmed it would be the former, with the left-hander coming off a brilliant half-century in a Big Bash League game for the Perth Scorchers on Wednesday.
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Australia vs England is scheduled for a 2.20 pm AEDT (8.50 am IST, 3.20 am GMT) start with live coverage in India on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3 (Hindi) and Star Sports HD1. Viewers in India can watch the match online via free live streaming on Starsports.com or via the Starsports Live Pro option.
Viewers in the UK can catch England take on Australia live on Sky Sports 2 or by live streaming on Sky Go or Watch Sky Sports. Watch Match 4 of the Carlton 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.
The game can be watched live by audience in the USA live 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 big ODI match live on OSN with the live stream option on OSN Play.
Confirmed lineups: Australia: Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Cameron White, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Gurinder Sandhu.
England: Ian Bell, Moeen Ali, James Taylor, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Steven Finn.
