Deadline: June 25, 2019 at 3 PM IST
Venue: Lord’s, London
Pitch and conditions
More than Pakistan and South Africa, the teams that had their eyes set on the pitch used in Sunday’s match at Lord’s were England and Australia. There was a lot of grass but it was dry, and by the time England and Australia take the field on Tuesday, the pitch will get bald. If Pakistan managed over 300 runs, imagine the carnage when Australia and England bat.
Bad news is that it is likely to rain on the morning of the match. Good news is that it will subside by the time the match starts. Expect a delay in toss.
Probable XI for England: Jonny Bairstow, James Vince, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood
Probable XI for Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson/Nathan Lyon
Shadab Khan and Imran Tahir got enough zip and turn. England already have Moeen and Rashid at their disposal. Australia might make way for Lyon at the expense of Richardson.
NOTE: Pick your fantasy cricket team wisely.
The oldest rivalry in cricket
England and Australia share rivalries even beyond The Ashes. During ICC tournaments, only India and Pakistan are expected to be high-voltage games. An Australia-England contest may not attract a lot of spectators at the ground, but it certainly interests the cricket purists. Given the fact that this is England’s best ODI team and Australia are back to their best, the contest on Tuesday might as well go into the chapters of close encounters.
Who to put your money on?
It’s a tough match for the fantasy players. Both Australian openers are in a top-notch form. With a whopping 447 runs in 6 matches, David Warner is the highest run-scorer of the edition. With only 151 runs fewer than Warner, his captain Finch is at the fourth spot. A place above him is Joe Root who has scored two hundreds and three fifties. You now know which batsmen you cannot afford to overlook.
Now to the bowlers. Mitchell Starc and Jofra Archer have taken 15 wickets each, sharing the top spot. There you go. Now you have five players who you cannot keep out of your fantasy team.
Then there are Eoin Morgan and Steven Smith, the men who can turn the tide in no time. Morgan, on his day, smacks sixes at will, boasting of that he does not need boundary lines. Smith bats and bats, and even if others fail to put bat on ball, he then bats as if it is a child’s play, making batting look ridiculously easy.
There are four all-rounders to choose from: Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Moeen Ali, and Ben Stokes. The pitch is tailor-made for the batsmen. Stokes has already played a remarkable innings of 82* and Maxwell cannot be defined by his recent form.
There, however, are dark horses, whose performances hide in scorecards. Nathan Coulter-Nile, a bowler, scored 92 at No. 6 and took wickets at crucial intervals, especially when Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins failed to provide a breakthrough. On the other hand, Mark Wood has taken 12 wickets without many noticing, making him one of the players to watch out for.
What is your fantasy XI then?
Also, get to know the tips & tricks on how to play fantasy cricket