Two of the favorites to lift the trophy by the end of this month will meet in a high-voltage clash on a weekend when Pakistan and India will get against each other as well. It might not be a rivalry as huge and as historic as the Pakistan-India one, but these two teams have their own long-standing strife against each other. A feud based purely on cricket. With England being the defending champions increases the value of this game even more. Although Jos Butler’s men did not carry their invincible aura against Scotland at the same venue, they can not afford to do the same against the Aussies.
Australia are fresh off a win and this match against England could quite really be the only challenging fixture of their campaign. Unless an upset for ages unfolds, if the Kangaroos manage to win this match, reaching Super 8s would be like taking a walk in the park. Against Oman in their previous outing, though they eventually won the game, a slow scoring rate could have been more detrimental, had Marcus Stoinis not stepped up with both the ball and the bat. The Aussies need to make sure they avoid such mistakes as against the big team they would not necessarily get a chance to make a recovery.
Team Overview:
In the game against Scotland, Jofra Archer could only roll his arm over in his birthplace for two overs, all thanks to the rain. This time the Barbados crowd and the English team would want to see him showing the world once again what he is capable of. England would also be lamenting the rain-truncated game last time they took the field in the Kensington Oval as this has snatched the luxury of playing stress-free from them. For this game, all they need to worry about is beating Australia and leaving the NRR angst for the remaining two matches against Namibia and Oman. The way the English openers have performed lately would be a cause of huge relief for them. And so will be their pace unit. Spinners would need to tread carefully and make sure not to leak needless runs.
David Warner and Marcus Stoinis were the architects behind Australia’s win over Oman. But doing this against a team like England they would need to step up as a team. Pat Cummins is slated to make a comeback in place of Nathan Ellis against the Three Lions and that will be a huge boost for the yellow team. Nevertheless, the top order needs to up the ante while trying to bat as deep as they can.
Head-to-head Matches:
The Ashes rivals have been up against each other in 23 International T20s, with Australia taking the lead with 11 wins and allowing England to get over the line in 10. This shows that this rivalry has always been a very close competition.
Weather and Pitch Report:
There is a chance of rain in Barbados on Saturday, however, it is not expected to last long so any overs being lost is very unlikely. The pitch will offer some seam movement during the early stages of the game, spinners will eventually find some sweet cracks. As for the batters, the deck does not offer any assistance and a high-scoring match should not be expected.
Prediction:
The games between Australia and England have always been a tight competition and this one will not be any different. But taking even the slightest difference into account, Australia has a minimally greater shot at winning this square-off than England.
Where to Watch:
You can watch the games on the following platforms as per your region:
- India – Star Sports
- Pakistan – PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Myco (Live streaming) and Tamasha app (Live streaming)
- USA and Canada – Willow TV
- England – Sky Sports Network
- Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
- New Zealand & Australia – Sky Sports NZ, Prime Video
- Other regions – SuperSport, Sirasa, CricLife, STARZPLAY
