Rivals England and Australia are set to clash in the first of three T20 internationals scheduled for this week, taking place on Wednesday at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.
England enter the series ranked fourth in the world according to the latest ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings, while Australia sit in second place, behind world champions India.
This marks Australia’s return to England for the first time since last summer’s unforgettable Ashes series. Along with the action on the field – such as the controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow – the series will long be remembered for off-field moments, particularly the incident between MCC members and the Australian players in the Lord’s Long Room.
Of course, those moments came before rain dashed England’s hopes of reclaiming the coveted urn. The Three Lions will now be looking for redemption over the next three weeks, though in white-ball cricket this time.
The hosts come into this match with mixed emotions after a somewhat embarrassing defeat to Sri Lanka in the final Test of their series earlier this week, which put an end to England’s hopes of achieving a ‘perfect summer’ for the first time in two decades.
England now return to the shortest format of the game for the first time since their tour of the West Indies and the US earlier this year, where they reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. However, many would agree that their performances throughout the tournament fell short of the high standards they’ve set in the past, especially during the group stage.
Australia, meanwhile, after a flawless group stage at the World Cup, suffered a surprise exit in the Super 8 stage following a 21-run defeat to a spirited Afghanistan side, who joined India in advancing to the quarter-finals from their section.
However, the Aussies have had the perfect preparation for this series, having spent the past week acclimatising just north of the border and completing a 3-0 clean sweep of Scotland in a T20 series.
Based on their tour of Scotland, the men from Down Under are not here to mess around, particularly Travis Head. Along with skipper Mitchell Marsh, Head set a new world record for the most runs scored in a powerplay during the first match, blasting 113/1 in six overs after Jake Fraser-McGurk was dismissed for a duck on debut.
Head also equalled the record for the fastest half-century by an Australian in a T20 match and was on track to break Aaron Finch’s Australian record of a 47-ball century, but narrowly missed out, scoring 80 runs off just 25 balls.
In the third match, Cameron Green stole the spotlight with his all-round performance, taking three wickets with the ball before hitting an unbeaten half-century off just 33 deliveries in the run chase, leading his side to a 3-0 series victory with 23 balls to spare.
Australia now return to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2020, where they will have fond memories of their five-wicket win during their last visit.
Team News
England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler will miss the three-match T20 series and is doubtful for the 50-over matches as well due to a calf issue, with Phil Salt set to take on the captaincy duties for the foreseeable future.
Interim head coach Marcus Trescothick, who will be succeeded by England legend Andrew Flintoff next month, has also called up Surrey all-rounder Jamie Overton to the T20 squad, while Essex batsman Jordan Cox has been added to the ODI squad as cover.
For Australia, the two most notable absentees from the squad are Pat Cummins, who has been rested for this tour, and David Warner, who retired from international cricket following the T20 World Cup in June. Travis Head will captain the side in Cummins' absence.
Jake Fraser-McGurk has been brought in to replace Warner at the top of the order, though he will need to significantly improve on his performances against Scotland, where he managed just 16 runs in one innings and was dismissed without scoring in the other two matches.
Squads
England squad: Phil Salt (c), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, John Turner
Australia squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marcus Stoinis Adam Zampa
Schedule
1st T20I: September 11 - Rose Bowl, Southampton
2nd T20I: September 13 - Sofia Gardens, Cardiff
3rd T20I: September 15 - Old Trafford, Manchester
