England vs Australia 2020, 3rd ODI, Manchester: England Predicted XI

England and Australia will lock horns in the third and final One-day International in what is expected to be yet another humdinger of an encounter at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester.

England pulled off an epic heist in the last game as they came back from the dead twice- once when they were reeling at 8-149 and eventually posted 9-23 and secondly with the ball when Australia was cruising in their run-chase before getting blown away in the middle-overs- to enforce a series-decider.

Here’s a look at England’s predicted XI for the 3rd ODI against Australia–

 

Jason Roy

24,0,1,3,21- That’s 49 runs in 5 innings at an average of 9.80. Needless to say that swashbuckling opener Jason Roy has had a forgettable summer thus far.

With the series on the line and the third ODI set to be played on a fresh pitch, both Roy and the team-management will hope that the right-hander comes good when it matters the most.

 

Jonny Bairstow

Even though he fought his way to a patient 84 in the first game, Jonny Bairstow has struggled for timing and on occasions, he has looked completely out of sorts.

The Yorkshire swashbuckling batsman was dismissed for a seven-ball duck by Mithell Starc, something he would want to shrug and back up with a match-winning score in the series decider.

 

Joe Root

Just like Jason Roy, England Test captain Joe Root has also endured a pretty tough time in the last two One-day Internationals.

In both the games, he has struggled to rotate the strike which has not only put the brakes on the run-scoring but it has also resulted in a significant amount of pressure on other batsmen. The England Test captain managed a 73-ball 39 in the last game, which included more than 40 dot balls, something he would hope to improve on in the last game.

 

Eoin Morgan [C]

If there is one English batsman who has looked like batting on a completely different track as compared to others, its skipper Eoin Morgan.

Morgan has scored a decent rate in both games by taking the attack on the opposition but in both the encounters, he hasn’t been able to convert his start into a substantial knock, something he’ll be hoping is not the case in the 3rd ODI.

 

Jos Buttler [WK]

It is not often that Jos Buttler endures back-to-back low scores in white-ball cricket, which has been the case in this series. Perhaps the fact that he has come into bat with England in all sorts of trouble and the Aussie bowlers being at the top of their game has contributed to the swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman’s failure.

With the 3rd ODIs set to be played on a fresh pitch, one can expect a run-fest and pave way for Jos to emulate his T20I exploits.

 

Sam Billings

Sam Billings scored his maiden One-day International hundred in the first game and he along with Jonny Bairstow were the spearheads in what was an appalling batting performance by England.

Billings missed out in the last game when he was dismissed for a 28-ball 8 by Adam Zampa. The right-hander has had a brilliant summer thus far and he would be hoping to cap it off with another substantial performance.

 

Chris Woakes

Throughout this English summer, Chris Woakes has time and again shown why he is such an integral part of the England set-up. Woakes has nerves of steel and the seam-bowling all-rounder has bailed his side out of trouble on more than one occasion during the summer.

The last ODI was yet another example. After having contributed 26 crucial runs to England’s tally, Chris Woakes chipped in with three crucial wickets of Marnus Labuschagne, skipper Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell to break open the game for the home side.

 

Sam Curran

Sam Curran replaced off-spin all-r0under Moeen Ali in the last game and the feisty seam-bowling all-rounder did complete justice to his selection as he picked up three crucial wickets, finishing with figures of 3-35 in his quota of 9 overs.

 

Tom Curran

Tom Curran chipped in with a true all–rounder’s performance in the last game. Not only did he score a valuable 39-ball 37 and stitched a valuable 76-run-stand with Adil Rashid to take England to an eventual match-winning total of 9-231, but he also bowled an economical spell that saw him concede a mere 28 runs in his quota of ten overs.

England will be hoping that the seam-bowling all-rounder emulates his performance in the series-decider.

 

Adil Rashid

If Adil doesn’t get you with the ball, he’ll certainly have your number with bat. This was proved to the hilt in the last game. The vile leg-spinner has had a lid over the Aussie batsman throughout the T20I and ODI series but the last ODI was probably the worst for Adil with the ball. But, guess what, he had already made up for that when he was batting.

Rashid scored a counterattacking 26-ball 35- an innings which included three fours and one six- and his partnership with Tom Curran was instrumental in pulling England out of a precarious position of 8-149. And, it was only fitting that he finished off the game with the ball with the dismissal of Alex Carey.

 

Jofra Archer

Gosh! Doesn’t Jofra Archer loves bowling with the white ball or what? The Barbados-born English fast bowler has literally bowled thunderbolts during the course of the last two games and his pace coupled with accuracy has resulted in Aussie batsman- especially David Warner- having no clue how to deal with the tearaway fast bowler.

Archer was absolutely brilliant in the last game, where he not only picked wickets at the top but he also came back in the middle-overs to claim Mitchell Marsh to throw open the game, eventually finishing with figures of 10-2-34-3.

Also Read- England vs Australia 2020, 3rd ODI, Manchester: Australia Predicted XI