Australia and England again! If you think you have had enough of the Ashes series, you are wrong. The old rivals are going to clash against each other on 4 November 2023 at the great Narendra Modi Stadium. This match won’t really put a dent in the points table. So get ready to enjoy this match to the fullest. It’s your normal Saturday evening with the good old Eng vs Aus ODI match.
Read: ICC Cricket World Cup points table 2023
Match preview
Read: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Live Streaming
Pitch report – Aus vs Eng
You can expect a high-octane match. We all saw how India completely destroyed Pakistan’s bowling attack in their match at Ahmedabad. The tournament opener between England and New Zealand was also a high-scoring match. Pity that this match is played at that stage of the tournament where it doesn’t really matter who wins or loses.
Key players
From the Aussie camp, David Warner and Adam Zampa have proven themselves as the leading players. Warner will punish even the slightest of the mistakes the bowlers commit. While Zampa will take his chances and take those quick wickets in the middle overs. He has 22 wickets in the past 9 matches. While Warner has scored 584 runs in the past 10 matches.
If we talk about England, Ben Stokes and Dawid Malan have scored runs in this tournament. They played the roles of anchors when England had those horrible batting collapses. Pity that Stokes couldn’t join the team earlier. Things could have been a lot better. Aussies will have to watch out for these players.
Australia’s rise in the tournament
Australia didn’t have an excellent start in this tournament. They lost their initial couple of matches. However, things have been a lot different since then. They have a solid position on the points table and have a decent NRR. The most remarkable win has to be against the Kiwis. That team wasn’t weak. However, the Aussies dominated them.
Read: Australia team for ICC Cricket world cup 2023 [Announced]
England knocked out
England has been pathetic in this tournament. From nowhere, they showed that they were the defending champions. Seems like the bazball had some side effects to it as well. Or, more so, these were the adverse effects of playing that sort of cricket in the ODI format. The batting collapses due to rash shots have been detrimental to their World Cup campaign. They will have a lot to rebuild when they go back home.
England: England squad for Cricket World Cup 2023 [Announced]
Prediction
Australia will win this match. You can say that the prediction meter goes 80-20 in favour of the Aussies. England has a lot to think about. Their players haven’t been able to get in the form. Adil Rashid wasn’t that effective; their batters aren’t staying more on the crease. At the same time, the Aussies have shifted their gears at the right time.
Highlights
England won the toss and chose to bowl first.
| AUSTRALIA | ENGLAND |
|---|---|
| Travis Head | Jonny Bairstow |
| David Warner | Dawid Malan |
| Steven Smith | Joe Root |
| Marnus Labuschagne | Ben Stokes |
| Josh Inglis | Jos Buttler |
| Cameron Green | Moeen Ali |
| Marcus Stoinis | Liam Livingstone |
| Mitchell Starc | Chris Woakes |
| Pat Cummins | David Willey |
| Josh Hazelwood | Adil Rashid |
| Adam Zampa | Mark Wood |
First Innings – Australia
- Australia will feel conflicted. This wasn’t your regular Aussie performance.
- They would, however, be satisfied with Zampa’s appearance.
- Australia, for the first time in a long time, lost their openers.
- Smith batted effectively and appeared on track for a massive score before succumbing to Adil Rashid. Rashid also picked up Inglis.
- However, Labuschagne grabbed command. But Wood caught him again as he was about to kick on. Green received a few injuries and scored a few runs before falling for 47.
- Stoinis went for it too soon and was defeated by Livingstone.
- Ultimately, Zampa contributed those crucial runs, and Australia scored 286.
Second Innings – England
- England was disappointing this year. They came in as the defending champions. Even Jos Buttler confidently commented that “there’s nothing to defend.” However, he wouldn’t want the outcome to be like this.
- Their batting had been a disaster throughout, and when they did improve, 286 was too far.
- After losing two early wickets, Malan and Stokes stabilized matters with a partnership, but they lost two wickets in a row.
- Another partnership followed it, but it was cut short by fast wickets, ending the chase.
- Rashid, Willey, and Woakes attempted to do something exceptional, but they would always struggle to cross the finish line.
- Adam Zampa had a fantastic night, going 3 for 21 with the ball, 29 with the bat, and collecting a wonderful catch to round off the day.
- Overall, Aussies wouldn’t be happy with the Bating performance. However, their bowling defended this title. The real question is, if it had been any other team, could they have defended this target? They have to find answer to this question and come out as a better team in the knockouts.
Man of the match
Wasn’t this an all-round performance from Zampa? The team needed runs? He scored them. His team needed wickets? HE TOOK THEM! Could things get any better for him? He was eating pain killers a couple of days ago, and still playing the matches. If he is still doing that,, HATS OFF TO YOU, ZAMPA!