STAR PREVIEW Tues: England v Australia, 3rd T20 with RYAN SIDEBOTTOM

England v Australia, 3rd T20
Australia Tour of England
AGEAS Bowl, Southampton
Tuesday 8th September
Live from 5:30 pm on Sky Sports Cricket HD & Test Match Special

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Hello all, it’s good to be back after another series win for England. It was great to see another game on the BBC – it’s a big moment for English cricket when it happens, especially with fans unable to go to games, and England winning is the icing on the cake for both occasions.

2nd T20 Thoughts

After the first T20, when Australia pushed England very close, it was fair to say that you could have expected a tight second game but England looked to be fairly comprehensive winners despite the game nearly going down to the last over.

I’ve mentioned here that the first 6 overs are very important for England in bowling terms (coming into this game, they had taken only three wickets in 36 overs) and they nailed it on Sunday. Jofra Archer and Mark Wood were brilliant, taking out David Warner and Alex Carey to rip the foundations out of Australia’s innings, and the pace in their opening spells was unbelievable – both were above 90mph/145kph in the opening two overs.

No matter what tally England are set, they’ll always have a chance – Jos Buttler’s 77 was another magnificent display and David Malan continues to prove that he’s one of the best T20 batsmen in the world. That Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins only had a wicket to show between them for 49 runs shows how good England were.

It was also good to see Moeen Ali hit a couple of great sixes towards the end. It was a sign of how he’s still got a lot to offer this side, not only as a batsman who can play anywhere, but a bowler too. Hopefully he can find a rhythm with England going forward, and he may well have a bigger part to play in the final game of the three too with Jos Buttler leaving the bubble for personal reasons.

3rd T20 Thoughts

Readers are already on a 3-0 England series win at 4/1 and I think England can prove to be too strong once again. The series may be won but there’s Number 1 status in the T20 game to think about and they’ll want to set a benchmark to their opposition ahead of the two World Cups that are coming up back to back as well.

For the last game, I’ll put my faith in Moeen Ali to star with bat and ball. The absence of Jos Buttler opens up the batting and perhaps his brief cameo will give him some confidence. England’s top order have seen some wickets fall in the first two games, and if the same happens again 15/2 will be a huge price on him top scoring. The 6/1 on him being the top-wicket taker also appeals too as being overpriced if he gets more of a chance with the ball after Archer and Wood.

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