Toss Australia chose to bowl vs England
Australia won the toss and elected to bowl in the series opener T20I against England in Perth ahead of the T20 World Cup. Amid overcast conditions, captain Aaron Finch decided to unleash his new-look attack on what is expected to be a fast and bouncy pitch at Optus Stadium.
Defending T20 World Cup champions Australia are fresh off a 2-0 T20I series win over West Indies in Queensland, but have rested their frontline attack.
Finch will open, while Steven Smith missed as big-hitting Tim David retained his place after his heroics in game two against the West Indies. Quicks Kane Richardson, Nathan Ellis and Daniel Sams have been named alongside spinner Mitchell Swepson.
After a thrilling 4-3 T20I series win in their long-awaited visit to Pakistan, England will ramp up their T20 World Cup preparations in this three-match series, which shifts to Canberra for the remainder.
The match marks the return of international cricket in Perth for the first time since the women’s T20 World Cup in February 2020 after an easing of strict Covid-19 measures.
Australia: 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 David Warner, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Tim David, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Daniel Sams, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Mitchell Swepson
England: 1 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Reece Topley, 11 Mark Wood
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
Source: ESPN Crickinfo