England v Australia, 3rd T20I
NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about a late injury (or other relevant) updates, so please wait for the toss before finalising your XIs.
Our XI: Tom Banton, David Warner, Dawid Malan, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid
Substitutes: Sam Billings, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Philippe, Mark Wood
Jos Buttler will miss the final T20I because of “personal reasons”.
Captain: David Warner
Warner was undone by a brute of a Jofra Archer delivery in the last match, and left for a duck. That doesn’t make us change our minds too much about one of the all-time great T20 players and he remains a reliable captaincy choice for us.
Vice-captain: Dawid Malan
Malan’s incredible T20I career seems to keep on stretching and his 42 off 32 in the last match proved yet another important hand as England sealed the series. There is little argument against betting on him at the moment.
Top picks
Glenn Maxwell: A batting order experiment meant Maxwell was pushed way down the order in the last match, but he gave a good account of himself. With Alex Carey’s place not fully secure, and the opportunity to rejig and experiment, don’t be surprised to find him back up in the top four again.
Eoin Morgan: Buttler is unavailable, and that might mean a straightforward move up for Tom Banton. That would bring Morgan up to his regular No. 4 position, one where you can back him to be the destructive force he has turned into during his extended second wind over the last two years.
Value picks
Tom Banton: With scores of 8 and 2, it’s fair to say Banton hasn’t quite taken to the No. 4 role. It was Jason Roy’s absence as opener that allowed him to open with good success against Pakistan two weeks ago, and Buttler’s absence should hoist him right back into his most comfortable batting position.
Moeen Ali: Barring any radical squad rotation, Ali is likely to stay in his floating role at No. 5 or 6, with more batting-centric responsibilities. He had a small hit at the end of last match’s chase and while he isn’t likely to have too many long innings batting where he does, he is a valuable pick in this format with his all-round abilities.
Point to note
-
Australia are carrying a mix of rookies and seniors who are looking to prove a point, so keep a close eye on their line-up, which could have a couple of changes.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo