ENG vs AUS 2018, 2nd ODI - Australia Seek Redemption to Level Score

The visitors Australia will look to bounce back when they square off against England in the 2nd ODI of the five-match series at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on June 16 (Saturday).

Meanwhile, the hosts are 1-0 up beating the Aussies by three wickets at the Oval. However, they don’t have fond memories from this ground, as they lost against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy semifinal, a year back.

England, who almost stumbled upon while chasing in the last game will look to hit their straps again. The fact that victory at The Oval was set up by the bowlers was perhaps most significant, given their travails in Scotland. The seamers all did their bit, while Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid suggested spin could be England’s trump card in the series.

On the other hand, Australian batsmen need to step, as said by former skipper Ricky Ponting. Skipper Tim Paine also highlighted afterward the fact that a top score of 24 among the top five won’t help you win too many ODIs. However, Glenn Maxwell’s return to form was the only take away from the last game.

Further, the Aussie attack consisting of rookie pacer put up a spirited job to take the game till the end. Billy Stanlake and Andrew Tye proved that their pace reserves run deep even in the absence of the big three.

Meanwhile, the host will still miss Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes and is likely to field the same team. However, spin is rarely as effective a weapon at Sophia Gardens, which could lead to Tom Curran or Jake Ball come into contention.

The visiting team may look for an extra batsman after their flaccid batting effort at The Oval, as Paine suggested after the loss.

Pitch and conditions

Cardiff is prone to producing slow, tacky surfaces, but this one appears fresher than the pitch England came unstuck on against Pakistan in the semi-final of the 2017 Champions Trophy.

The short, straight boundaries can mitigate against spin – Moeen, whose three for 43 sucked the life out of Australia at The Oval, has only ever bowled two overs in ODIs at the ground.

Meanwhile, there is a possibility of showers affecting the start of the game on Saturday, but the weather should clear up.

Form guide

England WLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia LLWLL

Squad:

England: Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Jake Ball

Australia: Tim Paine (c & wk), Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Agar, Michael Neser, Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, D Arcy Short, Alex Carey, Nathan Lyon, Jhye Richardson

Stats and trivia

• Morgan needs 41 runs to overtake Ian Bell as England’s leading run-scorer in ODIs.
• England have lost three of their last five ODIs at Cardiff, including last year’s Champions Trophy semi-final.

Also Read: Five Players who can replace Ambati Rayudu in the ODI squad