England were eager to make an impression against Scotland after their opening match was postponed due to inclement weather. But after an indecisive start by Jos Buttler’s squad they quickly found themselves facing an uphill struggle.
England’s strategy of bowling part-time spinner Adam Zampa in the second over proved successful as he picked up two wickets with his first three balls, effectively sending shockwaves through their ranks.
England are looking to defend their World Cup T20 crown when they face Australia in Barbados in a World Cup T20 match, eager to avoid falling down the table and prevent another loss like in their opener against Scotland, while Australia defeated Oman comfortably.
Jos Buttler’s side appeared below their best in that game, and could fall even further behind without picking up a win against Australia. Sloppy fielding and poor decisions were hard to ignore, indicating they will need to work hard in order to qualify for the Super 8 stage of this tournament.
England needs to take steps in both fielding and bowling to keep Scotland at bay; Mark Wood and Jofra Archer had trouble adapting to wet conditions against Scotland but, if they can put in consistent performances on Saturday, then England can make this match closer.
Australia have several injuries to worry about heading into this one, with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc both uncertain for this game. Adam Zampa may return after sitting out the first match due to cramp. Australia are likely to settle for a slightly weaker lineup than against Oman; perhaps using David Warner and Travis Head at the top, along with Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, and Harry Brook in their middle order batting order.
England’s batting
Dawid Malan provided England with an effective opening stance, while Moeen Ali hit an unorthodox late six to keep them competitive against Australia, yet their middle order collapsed under pressure and poor bowling let Australia win their opening match of this World Cup tournament – leaving England bottom of Group B after just one match had been played! The defending champions now sit three matches from elimination, yet two remain to complete in Group C.
At the end of it all, England’s innings was undermined by an inferior pitch which produced irregular bounce and produced many short-pitched deliveries. They never looked comfortable as their top order fell at an alarmingly fast rate and left with an uphill task to win this match.
Mitchell Starc picks up another early wicket as Jonny Bairstow is caught at long off by Mitchell Starc’s delivery that got airborne and landed just outside off stump. Joe Root’s review failed in that over as it appeared that ball hit his bat instead of clipping leg stump.
Livingstone finally gets off the mark as he pulls one down to the ground for four, only for Adam Zampa almost making an outstanding diving one-handed catch at short third man; just missing it with his fingertips. Australia continued their dominance as England failed to mount any meaningful net run-rate overhaul. England may be hoping that their net run rate changes drastically over time but this loss leaves only two wins overall and their chances of qualifying for semi-finals is almost impossible.
England’s bowling
England’s management gambled on pace when making wholesale changes to their team for the World Cup, including pensioning off James Anderson in favor of Mark Wood, all-in on Gus Atkinson, and opting for Shoaib Bashir over Jack Leach as spinner. Unfortunately, England suffered an embarrassing defeat against Australia on Barbados which could prove pivotal in defending their title – winning their remaining two group stage matches or hoping that Australia can significantly alter their net run rate would put them into the last four.
England’s batting was in disarray by the time they reached 204 for seven, with all-rounder Ben Stokes and opener Dawid Malan both falling cheaply early on their innings. Glenn Maxwell struggled too and missed a low chance at deep midwicket from Steven Finn while Jos Buttler was caught behind off Josh Hazlewood’s legspin.
Marcus Stoinis then hit Starc’s short ball for short leg, dashing England’s hopes of an unlikely comeback further. Australia then reviewed an LBW decision against Root but Hawkeye determined it had hit his pads off leg stump. Adam Zampa then took an incredible diving catch off Root to bring an end to England’s innings after halftime; their top order were left despairing of finding any further victory.
England’s fielding
England found it hard to defend Australia’s powerful powerplay bowling at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Glenn Maxwell and Jos Buttler both hit sixes during Australia’s powerplay to take their total score up to 73-1 before Adam Zampa struck. With two wickets from his first two overs he managed to entice Jos Buttler into reverse sweeping straight into Wade’s hands; then got another reverse sweep attempt in to hit backward point fielder instead.
Australia continued their pressure, forcing their opponents into making mistakes that led to Jonny Bairstow being bowled for a golden duck by Mitchell Starc who successfully overturned Root’s caught behind decision due to Hawkeye suggesting the ball may have bounced over leg stump. Jofra Archer dropped a low chance at backward point while Adil Rashid threw up his hands after Buttler failed to gather a diving catch at midwicket – leading to further collapsed innings for England.
Moeen Ali provided some fight with a 15-ball 25. Buttler then fell victim to Zampa’s second wicket when he failed to pull off a short delivery and edged straight to Warner at deep square leg, effectively ending their innings at that stage and giving Australia an excellent chance at making the semi-finals on Saturday. To know more about this and want to update yourself time to time just follow us: https://sportsadda.co.uk/
