Australia will look to seal a place in the final of the tri-series when they take on England in the fourth match of the tournament at Hobart on January 23rd. The Australian team has played 2 matches so far and won both of them. They have called upon Cameron White and Shaun Marsh in place of the rested David Warner and their banned skipper George Bailey. The pitch at Hobart is supposed to batting track.
Australia had beaten England in the opening match of the series by 3 wickets and then India by 4 wickets. They are the top of the table with 9 points. The Australian middle order batting has suffered collapses in their previous 2 matches. The onus will be on Glenn Maxwell to show his class and power hitting. In tomorrow’s match, Finch and Marsh will open followed by Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Moises Henriques (replacement for the injured Shane Watson) and Brad Haddin. The bowling attack looks impressive with the likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner and Xavier Doherty.
On the other side, England will be confident after crushing India by 9 wickets at Brisbane. In that match, Steve Finn and Anderson were the main wicket takers. Steve Finn and Anderson will be a main threat for the Aussies. They might retain the same XI that beat the Indians. Bell also performed well against India, scoring 88. Their middle order has to perform if they have win against Australia. They have Root, Morgan, Buttler and Bopara to step up and score some runs. England will be confident and a win against Australia will help them of almost of assuring a place in the finals as India would require winning both of the matches with bonus point and if England loses, then it would an interesting fight for the second spot for the finals.
It promises to be interesting match and hope that both of teams play to their potential. Australia has a chance to see their batting depth without their main batters while England would look to bulid momentum.
Probable Playing XI for Australia:
Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Cameron White, Moises Henriques, Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty
Probable Playing XI for England:
Ian Bell, Moeen Ali, James Taylor, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Steven Finn
Time 08:50 (IST)