Australia vs England 1st T20: Match Preview

After losing the one-day series 4-1, its time for the T20 series between the traditional rivals. The first of the T20s commences in Hobart on Wednesday with England having seen all the downs in this tour so far. With England fielding more or less the same squad in the T20s, they would have to take the field with an attitude overhaul by forgetting whatever has happened over the past two months. While Australia have added Chris Lynn and James Muirhead to their side, their batting in home conditions is expected to be descent. Mitchell Strac has been a proven performer in the past couple of years in the shortest format and is expected to lead the attack. Coming back to England, this can be touted as their best chance to snatch some wins. The shortest format of the game gives huge chance to the underdogs and England would want to leverage on it, especially with the short boundaries in Hobart.
Although still low on morale, England would be gotten used to it. Eoin Morgan & Ian bell for England and Aron Finch for Australia have been in terrific form in the one-day series and similarly, James Faulkner and BA Stokes have been in the wickets for their respective sides. While Australia have always had not a good run in T20s, England can boast of a T20 world cup in their kitty. With the next 2 T20s in Melbourne and Sydney, this is the opportunity for England to start well and hopefully tilt the rest of the tour in their favour. Both teams are more or less likely to announce similar play XI as the ODIs but the frame of mind is what would be making the difference in this series. On the other hand, Australia having gone through a resurrection period in the past few months can actually gain a lot as far as going to the pinnacle of cricket once again is concerned, as they have never done well in T20 cricket and hence need to get their act right in this form. Let’s hope for an interesting series.