Australia vs England
June 8, Bridgetown, 1pm local, 6pm GMT, 10.30pm IST
Big picture – Defending champions under the pump (again)
Australia WWWWL (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
England WWLWW
In the spotlight – Glenn Maxwell and Jos Buttler
Team news – Cummins back, but who sits out?
Australia (probable XI): 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Josh Inglis (wk), 7 Tim David, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood
England (probable XI): 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley/Mark Wood
Four World Cup fixtures at Kensington Oval have produced markedly different results for batting: at one extreme, the tie between Oman and Namibia produced totals of 109 all out and 109 for 6; at the other, Scotland’s charge to 90 for 0 from 10 overs between the showers against England. No team has scored more than Australia’s 164 for 5 against Oman, however. This fixture, a day game, will be played on a new surface, said to be the best one on the square – though a slightly patchy forecast could give the teams another thing to contend with.
“A win is a win, it doesn’t derail us either way. We know we’ve got to win more games than we lose in tournament cricket. A win puts you in a position in the group which is obviously more favourable, but the other two games that we’ve got post this are must-win games anyway.”
Win or lose, Jonny Bairstow is embracing that winning feeling
“I daresay this will be full and it’ll be mostly English fans, so it’ll be like playing at Headingley all over, or anywhere in England where you get sprayed. But the atmosphere, the vibe of the game, there’s always a lot riding on it. As a team we always want to challenge ourselves against the best. England have been exceptional in this format for a long period of time now, so there’s certainly going to be a lot on the game and we’re pumped.”
Mitchell Marsh is braced for an Ashes-style reception from England’s travelling fans