Australia gear up for title defence with warm-up clash against England

OverviewEngland v Australia

The Rose Bowl, Southampton
2019 ICC Cricket World Cup Warm-up
Saturday 25 May, 10:30 local time, 10:30 BST

Australia seem to have peaked just at the right time, winning each of their last eight One Day Internationals. Not many would have given them a chance until a few months ago, but recent form and arrival of two of their greatest match-winners, Steve Smith and David Warner, makes them one of the strongest sides going into the World Cup.

The Aaron Finch led side, stormed past West Indies in their unofficial warm-up game at this very venue. Steve Smith scored a well compiled 76 to assert that he's well and truly ready for the long English Summer. Usman Khawaja, who was struck on his helmet by a steep bouncer from Andre Russell, was cleared of any threatening injury after scans revealed that there was no serious damage to his jaw.

England have dominated their arch-rivals in recent times, having won nine out of the ten games played between the two sides. The hosts had white-washed Australia 5-0, during the previous English summer. Captain Eoin Morgan, during his team's kit launch on Tuesday, sounded confident and said that his team "is in the best possible place" and is eager for the World Cup to start.

The top-ranked ODI side boasts of a strong batting unit which has mounted a series of high totals in recent times. With them facing a strong Australian bowling attack which believes in fighting fire with fire, the fans can expect an exciting contest.

Key Players:

**Jofra Archer:**Much has been talked about his inclusion in the England World Cup squad and everyone seems excited to see him perform at the biggest stage. His opening spell against Pakistan in the rain-affected game at The Oval was another indicator of his skills and form in white ball cricket. The Barbados born pacer promises to pose a serious challenge to the Australian top order which boasts of Aaron Finch, David Warner and Steve Smith.

**Aaron Finch:**One of the unsung heroes of Australia's victorious campaign in the 2015 World Cup, the Australian skipper seemed back to his fluent best in the ODI series against Pakistan earlier this year, where he scored 451 runs at a staggering average of 112.75. The Victorian averages in excess of 50 against the arch-rivals England, and will look at Saturday's game as an opportunity to get acquainted with the conditions before the real test begins.

Conditions:

The sun is expected to play hide and seek with the clouds with minimum chances of rain being forecast. The cloud cover, if it stays for long might just aid swing bowling at a venue which is otherwise a batting paradise. A mammoth 734 runs were aggregated in both innings combined, when the hosts played Pakistan here in the recently concluded ODI series.

Squads:

England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Australia: Aaron Finch (capt), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Alex Carey, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Pat Cummins, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Nathan Lyon