Daily Times

BIRMINGHAM: As one-sided series go, England’s bagelling of Australia in the fifth and final ODI at Old Trafford on Sunday was about as fraught as they come — a low-scoring epic, sealed by a high-achieving white-ball wizard at the absolute peak of his powers. Jos Buttler’s refusal to be beaten while his team-mates were being skittled around him was inspiring to behold, as he sealed a one-wicket win that felt as far removed from a dead-rubber contest as is humanly possible. Australia desperately wanted to get themselves off the mark in a dismal tour; England desperately wanted to hone their killer instinct, and capitalise on a rare opportunity to leave their most consistent cricketing tormentors with no place to hide. It meant that there was a cup final vibe in evidence throughout the day, and the fact that England held their nerve in extreme adversity — regardless of the strength of their opponents — has to augur well for next year’s defining challenge.

So how should we read the runes going into Australia’s final, final opportunity to make an impression on this tour? Clearly, a one-off T20 at Edgbaston lacks the context of what has gone before it, but as Alex Carey warned in the build-up to the match, Australia are ready to give it a “red-hot” go in a format that they have found infinitely more favourable in recent months. They are, after all, the reigning T20 tri-series champions – having put England emphatically in their place in the round-robin stage of February’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand. Unlike in the 50-over format, in which Australia’s batsmen have seemed reluctant to give full rein to their instincts for fear of making a mistake, there’s less reason to be reserved across 20 overs. And with a team that’s been honed in the competitive environs of the Big Bash, there’s plenty to suggest that this one could also go down to the wire.

Nevertheless, Australia’s T20 squad cannot have been immune to the general sense of chaos that has enveloped their set-up since the events in Cape Town in March – not least because their captain during their recent run of short-form success was none other than David Warner. In a parallel universe, he might currently be sharpening his credentials as the obvious hard-nosed choice to lead his country into next year’s World Cup. How quickly things can change.

In the spotlight: For a man who has now scored more one-day hundreds (six) against England than any other batsman, Aaron Finch endured a curious ODI campaign. And now he is captain – and that in itself offers an intriguing subplot, given that Tim Paine, the ODI captain, more or less conceded that his position was untenable after the whitewash. Teams news: With Jos Buttler opening alongside Jason Roy, Alex Hales is expected to come in at No. 3, which could mean Jonny Bairstow dropping to the middle order. Chris Jordan looks set to pip Sam Curran for the final berth in a five-man England attack, though Joe Root has been getting plenty of offspin practice of late. Paine makes way as wicketkeeper as well as captain, with Carey taking over the gloves, and assuming Glenn Maxwell recovers from his shoulder injury, he will slot back into the middle order, from where he gave England quite the schooling in Hobart in February. Andrew Tye’s variations are likely to have more mileage in the shorter format than they found in a chastening ODI campaign. And given the heat, and the prospect of a dry surface, the leggie Mitchell Swepson might well find a way into the starting XI.

Squad:

England (probable) 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Alex Hales, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Eoin Morgan (capt), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 David Willey

Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 D’Arcy Short, 3 Travis Head, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Nic Maddinson, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Marcus Stoinis/Mitchell Swepson 9 Kane Richardson, 10 Andrew Tye, 11 Billy Stanlake.

Published in Daily Times, June 27^th 2018.