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A weekend set up perfectly for the two biggest rivalries in the sport to unfold at the Champions Trophy. The build-up towards the India-Pakistan clash on Sunday has already begun but the oldest rivalry of them all is set to play out on Saturday as the Gaddafi Stadium makes its bow for the tournament.
Australia and England have both had their share of struggles in the ODI format in recent times but when the battle lines are drawn between the two, the excitement often hits a crescendo. Potential banter, high-quality cricket and a tug of war keeps spectators and viewers rooted to their seats and nothing different is expected over this weekend.
Australia are the reigning world champions and often enter an ICC event as one of the hot favorites. This time around though, they have to make do without their entire first choice pace attack with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood all unavailable. While their second rung of seamers impressed during a two-match ODI tour of Sri Lanka last week, their batting came up a cropper on some real sluggish pitches as the Aussies went down 2-0.
As for England, they arrive on the back of a tour of India they would want to forget at the earliest if they haven't yet already. A 4-1 defeat in the T20Is was followed by a 3-0 drubbing in the one-dayers, both of which exposed the many chinks in their batting lineup against spin rather alarmingly. There has been a lot of criticism coming their way too with rumors of a lack of preparation doing the rounds and while they have since been quashed by skipper Jos Buttler and coach Brendon McCullum, wins are the only way England can keep all white noise at bay.
Some things haven't changed - England remain bullish about their approach with the bat and once again, they have named their XI way out of toss time. But there is a change as far as the batting order is concerned with Joe Root set to move down to number 4 and Jamie Smith taking the number 3 spot. While the rationale behind this remains to be answered, it is one that England hope desperately clicks as they look to post a big score - something that they failed to do enough in India.
Harry Brook will bat at 5 then with Buttler and Liam Livingstone slotting in just behind him. One of the positives for England during their tour of India was the start that their openers Philip Salt and Ben Duckett got off to. But with neither going on to post a big one, things went awry in the middle-overs where England's trial by spin never seemed to get any easier.
The decks in Pakistan are set to be batting friendly but it wasn't as though England played on dust bowls in India in the first place. Clearly, they have to show up a lot better than they have in recent times while how they split ten overs between Root and Livingstone in what could be batting friendly conditions is something that remains to be seen as well. Adil Rashid holds the key to the middle-overs choke while there is no dearth of pace with Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse all capable of cranking up the speedometers.
Should the Gaddafi Stadium produce a belter, it is all the more imperative that England strike early. Not least because of the presence of a certain Travis Head in the Australian ranks who can single-handedly run away with the contest on his day. Despite all of Australia's own struggles in Sri Lanka, the likes of Matthew Short, Josh Inglis and Aaron Hardie ought to enjoy conditions in Pakistan a lot better with skipper Steven Smith set to play the sheet anchor's role.
There could be a toss-up between Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey for the number 4 spot. The fact that Carey adds an extra left-handed option, coupled with his excellent form in this format in recent times, could just tip the scales in his favor to shepherd the middle-overs alongside Smith and Inglis. That could then set the perfect launchpad for Glenn Maxwell to then do his thing.
Without their first choice pace attack, Adam Zampa's middle-overs strikes have never been more critical to Australia's chances. Hardie could well take the new ball given his ability to get some swing early on while Spencer Johnson is expected to partner him on that front. There is decent experience to follow thereafter in the form of Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis, both of whom will have a big role to play in the second half of the innings. Collectively, this pace attack lacks enough international experience but there's certainly a lot of skill and promise there for Australia to cling onto.
And if that department fires, the Aussies have enough reason to believe that they could just peak at the right time in another ICC event. Things are a lot tougher this time around and for valid reason but not for no reason are they such a feared outfit in multination tournaments. A team like England will look to cash in on those weaknesses and typically throw the first punch but if they failed to land them well, Australia could make them pay.
This contest is certainly a lot tighter than it may have been about a month ago. And that only promises for a crackerjack of a ride with the old enemies keen to hit the ground running with a win. In a tournament where there's little room for a comeback, neither would want to make a bad start. But in an Australia-England clash, no player will leave anything out there on the park anyway!
Australia Probable XI: Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steven Smith (c), Alex Carey (wk), Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
England XI: Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
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Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
