England’s Twenty20 Squad Face The Old Enemy Australia
England’s Twenty20 Squad collapsed against Pakistan in the third and final T20 international at Emirates Old Trafford. This allowed the visitors to level the series. England will be hoping, therefore, to make amends against their old foes Australia.
The three match T20 series kicks-off on Friday the 4th of September. All three games will be played the Ageas Bowl. Both sides have named a strong T20 squad, which should make for an exciting series.
However, it will not be an easy task for the hosts to win. The visitors were the number one T20 side not too long ago and should challenge England all the way.
But, what players are picked on both sides and is there anyone in particular that we should look out for?
Riley Meredith And Josh Philippe
Shane Warne, throughout the summer, repeatedly mentioned to watch out for Riley Meredith and Josh Philippe. This was not a surprise as he had made it clear quite a while ago, that he was massive fans of both.
Riley Meredith is still young and raw. In fact, both are built off the same mould. Meredith has played only 21 T20 games in his entire career. In these games, he has picked up 27 wickets at a bowling average of 23 and economy rate of 8. These are good stats, for a bowler who is learning their trade.
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Josh Philippe, perhaps, is much more excitable. In 32 T20s, he has scored almost 800 runs at a strong batting average of 33 and a strike rate of 138. He has a superb temperament too and stood out in the BBL 2020 final, while others collapsed around him. Philippe scored a half-century to help the Sydney Sixers to their second BBL title.
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Both are part of Australia’s T20 Squad for the tour to England. Whether they will get consistent game time, is another question. Australia have a very strong T20 squad at their disposal.
Joe Root Misses Out From England’s Twenty20 Squad
Despite back-to-back half-centuries in the Vitality T20 Blast, Joe Root has not been included in England’s Twenty20 Squad. There can be either one off two reasons for this glaring omission. Firstly, England may feel that Root is undoubtedly part of England’s 2021 World T20 plans and therefore it makes more sense to play youngsters instead to test squad depth.
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The second reason is perhaps that the England selectors feel that Joe Root needs to increase his strike rate. England play an extremely attacking game in T20 Cricket and their team bats all the way down to 11. So, the chances of requiring Joe Root in the case of a collapse is far less, when all of your team can bat.
Therefore, the selectors may have believed that it was better for Root to play the Vitality T20 Blast, rather than be picked in England’s Twenty20 Squad.
Jos Buttler And Jofra Archer Return To England’s Twenty20 Squad
Despite England cruising to victory in the second T20 vs Pakistan, the return of Jos Buttler feels welcome. England collpased in both the first and the third T20 and would like to have the stability that Jos Buttler provides at the top of the order or in the middle-order.
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Jofra Archer will also be a welcome addition. England conceded 190 plus on both occasions that Pakistan batted in the last series. The tracks were flat but England must improve on that because chasing down a big score is not always easy. Jofra Archer’s all-round skills with the ball should help England restrict Australia to smaller totals.
England’s Twenty20 Squad and Australia’s Twenty20 Squad In Full
England’s Twenty20 Squad – Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan, Joe Denly, Tom Banton, Moeen Ali. Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Sam Billings. Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood.
England’s Twenty T20 Squad as picked reported by Sky Sports
Australia’s Twenty20 Squad – Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Daniel Sams, Glenn Maxwell. Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Philippe, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa. Andrew Tye, Ashton Agar, Kane Richardson, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon. Pat Cummins, Riley Meredith, Sean Abbott.
Australia’s T20 Squad Reported
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