It all comes down to a decider at the County Ground in Bristol as England and Australia enter the final match of the five-game ODI series locked at two-all.
Australia won the first two matches before England have roared back into the series which has followed a similar script to last year’s unforgettable Ashes series – minus the controversy.
MATCH CENTRE: England vs Australia fifth ODI live scorecard
Australia has won the toss and chosen to bowl first, with Steve Smith leading the side in Mitchell Marsh’s absence — the incumbent skipper pulled up sore after Friday’s defeat.
West Australian young gun Cooper Connolly makes his ODI debut, with Aaron Hardie and Matt Short also sliding into the starting XI.
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England smash Australia to level series | 02:51
England XI
Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Harry Brook (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Adil Rashid
Australia XI
Travis Head, Matthew Short, Steven Smith (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
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The Australians return to Bristol for the time since they defeated Afghanistan by seven wickets in their opening game of the 2019 World Cup – David Warner was the star that day with 89 not out, while Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa picked up three wickets a piece.
The last time the old enemies faced off at the venue was in the NatWest Series which preceded the 2005 Ashes – England won by three wickets as a young Kevin Pietersen gave Australia a taste of things to come with 91 not out from 65 balls.
Unfortunately, rain has washed away the last two ODIs in Bristol and it threatens to do the same again with late afternoon and evening showers forecast.
A no result would leave the series deadlocked – like last year’s Ashes series – but if the weather stays dry, Mitch Marsh’s side will need to lift themselves off the canvas.
They were crushed in a 186-run defeat at Lords as English seamers Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer had the ball hooping around corners under lights.
Sharing the load with the bat with be a key focus for the Australians as South Australians Travis Head (217 runs at 108.5 from three innings) and Alex Carey (164 runs at 62 from three innings) are the only Australian batters to score more than 150 runs for the series.
With the ball, they will be hunting the key wicket of Harry Brook who has taken a liking to captaincy duties.
In his first series in charge, the Yorkshireman leads all comers with 240 runs at 80 from four innings and his strike rate of 125 has only been bettered by Liam Livingstone (strike rate of 168.75) among players who bat in the top six.
Leg spinner Adam Zampa looms as the key bowler for Australia as he is the leading wicket taker in green and gold with six wickets at a miserly economy rate of 6.03 from three games, while Carse and Potts with seven wickets apiece top the series’ wicket-taking tally.
Source Agencies
