Here is Vic Marks’ report ...
Eoin Morgan confirms that he dislocated a finger, not that it stopped him batting. Or fielding, apart from one over. Morgan can’t fault “any facet” of England’s performance, which may be a relief to Tom Banton. He gives credit to Jofra, who “set the tone”, as well as to Buttler.
You might think the argument over Buttler’s place in the order was now settled, but Morgan doesn’t sound so sure. “We’ll look at the options.” I think he’s right about that. If Banton is to stay in the team, he has to open; at No.4, he’s not even close to Joe Root. But Jason Roy may be fit again soon to keep both of them out.
Thanks for your company, your emails and your bulletins from club cricket. I’m back on Friday for the 50-over Ashes; the OBO is back on Tuesday to see if Australia can grab a consolation victory. They don’t deserve to be 2-0 down.
Updated
That 77 not out is Buttler’s career-best in T20 internationals, to go with his Test-best 152 against Pakistan. His average as a T20i opener is now a Malan-like 51. His innings was about more than stats, though. On a tricky wicket, on which nobody else passed 42, he played safe enough to bat through, and didn’t mind being second fiddle to Malan for a bit, yet he still rocked along at a strike rate of 142. If he hadn’t already been one of Wisden’s Five Cricketer of the Year, he would be a sure thing for 2021.
The man of the match is clearly going to be Buttler, but two other players were excellent. Jofra Archer set the tone with a magnificent blend of accuracy, hostility and movement – for the first time in a year, he was the complete fast bowler. And Dawid Malan added yet another feather to his red T20 cap with a commanding 42 off 32 balls.
More from the north. “Any turn?” Anthony Bradley says, echoing my question. “Not sure if the lad got any turn on Boxing Day as I stayed at home with left-over mince pies. Unbelievably he had half a dozen mates to practise with. He is only 14 and they have done this three years on the bounce. The lot of them are utterly bonkers.” You’re not fooling us, Anthony – we can hear the pride in your voice.
A cliff with nobody hanging off it
England did their best to turn a cakewalk into a collapse, but Buttler stood firm. He finished with 77 off 54 balls, using the crease, working the singles, erupting only when he needed to, and timing his reverse sweeps beautifully. There was also a lovely cameo from Moeen Ali, 13 off only six balls. So England won by six wickets, with seven balls to spare. Aaron Finch’s brave decision to give Adam Zampa the penultimate over went horribly wrong – he went for six, four, one, six, and the last over never happened. But spare a thought for the Aussies, who may still be jetlagged.
England win the series! Buttler 77 not out
With six needed off eight balls, Jos Buttler does it in style, dancing down to Zampa and lofting him into the Solent. Opener, finisher, white-ball magician.
Mid-19th over: England 151-4 (Buttler 71, Moeen 12) Buttler, facing Zampa, takes a single. Moeen needs to go big. And he does – a shimmy down the track and a big six over long-off. And then a four! Swished over extra-cover, the shot that Morgan was aiming for. England need seven from the last nine balls.
18th over: England 140-4 (Buttler 70, Moeen 2) This is Agar’s last over. England settle for singles as Moeen gets his eye in, and that’s the end of a fine spell from Agar – two for 27 off his four overs. England need 18 from the last two: could be another cliffhanger.
17th over: England 135-4 (Buttler 67, Moeen 0) Back came Zampa, mullet and all. Morgan contented himself with singles, to hand the strike back to Buttler – who hit one of his signature shots, the uppish cover push, and got it into the gap for four. Morgan joined in the fun with a straight wallop for four. And then he perished. Are England Australia in disguise?
Wicket!! Morgan c Maxwell b Zampa 7 (England 135-4)
Game on! Morgan survives an LBW review, comfortably, but then chips to extra-cover. England need 23 from the last three overs, and they have to get Buttler on strike.
16th over: England 125-3 (Buttler 62, Morgan 2) So there is a wobble, as so often with England. But, as never before, Buttler is threatening to bat through, and be both the opener and the finisher. In a tight corner, this pair are exactly the men England would want out there. Well bowled Agar though – four off the over, and he has two for 22 from three.
Here’s Anthony Bradley, who’s writing almost as much as I am. “Thanks for relaying the ‘bulletins’ - I’ll take ‘our friend in the North’ as a moniker. Just to ask for a shout-out for our U15s who have a Cup semi-final at the theatre of dreams aka The Marshfield tomorrow evening. Declaration of interest: their budding off-spinner is my youngest son Richard, for whom a win will be a reward for outdoor nets on Boxing Day!” Was there any turn?
Updated
Wicket! Banton c b Agar 2 (England 122-3)
Oooh! Banton, sweeping, top-edges straight to Cummins at deep square. Game on? Only if Morgan, who was out third ball on Friday, flops again.
15th over: England 121-2 (Buttler 60, Banton 2) Here’s Starc, for his final over, and Finch’s last throw of the dice. Buttler decides that discretion is the better part of valour. Tucked up by the extra pace, he still manages a glance for two, among a few dots. Banton gets off the mark with a nice back-foot force for two, and then digs out a yorker. So Starc finishes, just like Archer, with only one wicket from his four overs. The difference is that Archer defined the contest. (Thanks to Geoff Wignall for pointing out an error in this paragraph, now corrected.)
Updated
14th over: England 115-2 (Buttler 58, Banton 0) Buttler flirts with danger too, chipping Agar into the covers, but there’s enough on it to clear the ring. That’s another fifty for Buttler in what’s turning out to be a fabulous summer. He barely celebrates, preferring to knuckle down and reassert his authority with yet another clean-hit reverse sweep.
Wicket!! Malan c Stoinis b Agar 42 (England 106-2)
The breakthrough! Agar persuades Malan to slog-sweep towards the long boundary, where Stoinis takes a comfy catch. Is this the turning point? England need 52 from 40 balls.
Updated
13th over: England 105-1 (Buttler 48, Malan 42) Finch, who must be feeling desperate, brings back Cummins. bvut the feeling doesn’t get any better as Malan lifts a length ball over extra cover and Buttler pulls a short one behind square. Eleven off the over. On BBC1, Jimmy Anderson is being teased for his outfit – a white polo-neck. “Milk Tray man,” say his female colleagues. Yes, but with white chocolate.
12th over: England 94-1 (Buttler 42, Malan 37) Now, as Ashton Agar comes on, Buttler plays a reverse sweep that sounds like a rifle shot. He’s threatening to do just what Morgan wanted and bat right through the innings.
11th over: England 86-1 (Buttler 36, Malan 35) After playing second fiddle for a bit, Buttler suddenly gives us a solo, seeing a yorker from Richardson and block-driving it sweetly through the covers. England need 72 off nine overs; Australia need a classic English collapse.
“Hope you’re having a good afternoon?” says Michael Robinson. I am, thanks. It’s almost relaxing, by T20 standards. “If anyone like me got home later than expected, they can start the cricket on iPlayer from 2 hours ago, and catch most of the Aussies’ innings. Might hurt your figures though.” We can take it.
10th over: England 74-1 (Buttler 25, Malan 34) Malan starts in reverse again, sweeping Zampa’s googly fine for another four. And again he follows one four with another – a muscular thump down the ground, taking the partnership to 53 off 33 balls. Malan is so good at T20 that he can overtake Buttler after giving him a three-over start. At the halfway stage, England are cruising – but then so were Australia on this surface the other night.
9th over: England 64-1 (Buttler 24, Malan 25) With Zampa on, Malan decides to tuck into Maxwell. A reverse sweep for four off the first ball, a cut for four more off the second. Maxwell fights back well by beating the bat and then taking the edge, finding some turn on this tired pitch. Eleven off the over.
8th over: England 53-1 (Buttler 23, Malan 15) Here is Zampa, the man on a mission to bring back the mullet. He deceives Buttler, yorking him on the charge, but it only yields a bottom edge for a single. A tidy over, four off it, but what Australia really want is a breakthrough.
Updated
7th over: England 49-1 (Buttler 21, Malan 13) The upshot of the conference is a switch to spin, which is standard for the seventh over in T20 – but it’s a part-time spinner, Glenn Maxwell, rather than Zampa or Agar. Buttler keeps calm and takes a wily two with a wristy flick to the ring at midwicket.
6th over: England 44-1 (Buttler 17, Malan 12) Cummins is back, bowling yorkers outside off at Buttler, which is surprising – that’s what you do when you need to keep the runs down, not when you’re gasping for wickets. For Malan, Cummins switches to bowling short, and strikes him somewhere painful. When he pitches one up, Malan plays a Harrow drive for four. So England finish the Powerplay on 44-1, where Australia were 39-3. Finch, unsure what to do next, holds a conference with Smith.
5th over: England 37-1 (Buttler 16, Malan 7) Starc receives a rare honour from his captain: a third successive over. He has an appeal for caught behind against Malan, but it’s off the midriff, not the edge, as Malan is late on the pull. Malan puts that right instantly, pulling for four in front of square, and then Buttler plays a one-handed swish for four more. England are on top.
Another bulletin from our friend in the north, Anthony Bradley. “Pleased to report that news from The Marshfield says that Settle CC are Ribblesdale League 20/20 Champions again. Achieved with a team almost entirely made up of local lads who came through our junior section. The death of cricket greatly exaggerated at least in this corner of God’s Own County.”
Updated
4th over: England 27-1 (Buttler 12, Malan 2) Finch takes Cummins off and brings on Kane Richardson, who deals mainly in slower balls. He keeps the pressure on with four successive dots to Buttler – who keeps calm and swings the last ball onto the foam at long-on for six.
3rd over: England 20-1 (Buttler 6, Malan 1) Bairstow had just shown signs of finding his touch. He saw Buttler’s caress and raised him a lofted off-drive, followed by a more orthodox straight drive, both for four. Australia desperately needed a wicket and they got one by the most improbable route. Now they need another, to separate England’s two form batsmen.
Wicket! Bairstow hit wicket b Starc 9 (England 19-1)
Well this is a weird one. Bairstow misses a pacy bouncer, spins around – and knocks the bail off with his bat. You couldn’t make it up.
Updated
2nd over: England 11-0 (Buttler 6, Bairstow 1) Cummins starts well too as Buttler edges short of the only slip. Fed up with these dots, Buttler steps over to the off side and plays a fabulous pull that goes, like a bullet, for a single, as it’s straight to the man at deep square. Then he steps the other way and caresses a cover drive, on the up, for the first boundary of the innings. Cummins comes back with a ferocious yorker, Waqar Younis on speed, but it’s going down. We have a contest.
1st over: England 5-0 (Buttler 1, Bairstow 0) So this game hinges on whether Starc and Cummins can start as strongly as Archer and Wood did. After Buttler takes a single off a thick inside edge, Starc thinks he’s got Bairstow LBW first ball, and even reviews, but it’s swinging too much. It’s a fine first over from Starc, marred only by four leg byes. Finch gives him one slip when Steve Waugh would have had at least three.
Australia close on 157
20th over: Australia 157-7 (Cummins 13, Starc 2) The last over is entrusted to Archer, who set the tone so beautifully at the start. It doesn’t go well. He bowls a wide, then another one, as a slower-ball bouncer goes too high. Cummins flashes for four, then middles a mow for six to bring up the 150 in style. There’s another wide, so the over is threatening to go on for some time. Archer recovers with an exemplary yorker which he follows up by running out Agar. And then Starc gets enough of an inside edge to sneak two off the last ball. That’s 18 off the over, and Archer finishes with 4-0-32-1, when he was worth far more. Australia may have got out of jail – after that horror start, they’ve ended up only five short of England’s winning score the other night.
Meanwhile, a small piece of cricket history has unfolded: match abandoned because of a positive test for Covid.
Wicket! Agar run out Archer 23 (Australia 155-7)
Another direct hit, by Jofra Archer, off his own bowling. But Agar did pretty well.
19th over: Australia 139-6 (Agar 23, Cummins 2) Maxwell had walloped the first ball for four, but then he got overexcited. Agar steps up and plays a handsome straight drive, timing it so well that it beats the man at long-on. Eleven off the over, again. “England in complete control here,” says Ebony Rainford-Brent. Not sure I’d agree with that – the pitch is doing plenty, and the Aussies have a top-class new-ball pair.
“Having kindly mentioned Settle CC recently,” says Anthony Bradley, “thought you might like to hear of another big 20/20 match. Settle CC in the final of the Ribblesdale League 20/20 cup. Settle got 133 first up and some Lancastrians are 38/4 after 10 overs.”
Wicket!! Maxwell c Buttler b Jordan 26 (Australia 132-6)
Cometh the hour, cometh Chris Jordan, who somehow persuades Maxwell to nick a regulation length ball, perhaps because his eyes lit up.
Updated
18th over: Australia 128-5 (Maxwell 22, Agar 18) Tom Curran returns and Maxwell greets him with a six, spotting a short one and clubbing it over midwicket. After that it’s all singles to make 11 off the over. WinViz is giving England a 62pc chance of victory, Australia 36pc. England need to get rid of Maxwell and his silver hammer.
17th over: Australia 117-5 (Maxwell 13, Agar 16) Moeen’s spell is over as soon as it began. Archer returns and instantly has an LBW appeal against Maxwell, with a slower ball, but it’s going over the top. This pitch is bouncier than it was on Friday, so Australia may have to rely on Mitchell Starc to get wickets with straight balls, and have some slips in for Cummins at the other end. For now, they’re still hanging in there, just: three singles and a couple of twos off that over.
16th over: Australia 110-5 (Maxwell 11, Agar 11) Jordan continues, conceding only ones and twos, with a little help from Moeen, who pulls off a good stop at deep backward point. Agar nicks again, and gets away with it again, as there’s no slip.
“The silver lining for the Aussies,” says Chris East, “is that Maxwell is still there. That’s one for the oldies!” If you’re not old enough to get it, go here.
15th over: Australia 101-5 (Maxwell 5, Agar 8) With Rashid done, Morgan turns to England’s half-forgotten man, Moeen Ali. He almost emulates his mate Rash when Agar, dancing down the track, edges just past Malan at slip. Instead the ball trickles away for four.
Here’s Adam Roberts, who begins by quoting me. “‘Archer has just bowled his best spell since last summer – and Morgan takes him off!’ On my coverage (ESPN showing Sky) Nasser and Warne had quite a long discussion about how to manage your strike bowlers when they’re only allowed 4 overs. Warne’s solution is to cut the number of minimum bowlers to 4, so each gets 5 overs. That would allow the captain 3 overs at the beginning and still have 2 up his sleeve. Sadly, things are going downhill now as Kevin Pietersen is on.
“This wasn’t the day to miss the beginning of an innings. Thank goodness for the rewind button.”
14th over: Australia 93-5 (Maxwell 3, Agar 2) With two new batsmen in, and the middle threatening to melt again, Morgan reckons it’s time for Wood’s final over. He beats Agar with a fast leg-cutter that may have Pat Cummins licking his lips. Wood finishes with 4-0-25-1, the same as Rashid.
Meanwhile Tom Hopkins has a question. “Was that Rashid review,” he wonders, “what was happening in Shane Watson’s mind all those times?”
13th over: Australia 89-5 (Maxwell 1, Agar 0) With Finch gone, Stoinis had taken over as the main man, lofting Rashid for six. Then he mishit another big shot but got away with it as the ball went over the ring at cover. He played well, but he’ll be kicking himself for not seeing it through.
Wicket!! Stoinis c Malan b Rashid 35 (Australia 89-5)
One brings two! Stoinis tries to dink Rashid and Malan, at slip, takes a beautiful catch, diving to his right. Credit to Morgan for having a slip in there.
Updated
12th over: Australia 79-4 (Stoinis 26, Maxwell 0) Before that, Jordan’s short ball still wasn’t working at all – it was sitting up and begging Finch to flick it for four, which he did twice in the over. Great comeback by Jordan, who’s so central to this England team.
Wicket! Finch b Jordan 40 (Australia 79-4)
Just when Aaron Finch was taking control, Jordan gets rid of him. A bouncer, angled in, persuades Finch to play on, and that’s the end of a fine salvage job.
Updated
11th over: Australia 69-3 (Finch 32, Stoinis 25) Finch has had enough of all these singles: he gives Rashid the charge and lofts him into the stand at long-on for six. Rashid fights back with a superb googly to Stoinis, which brings an LBW appeal but, rightly, not a review.
Updated
10th over: Australia 60-3 (Finch 24, Stoinis 24) Jordan comes off, after bowling one over for 11, to be replaced by Tom Curran, whose first one went for 10. He does better this time, allowing only four singles. It’s a funny attack England have got: two super-fast bowlers and two slower-ball specialists, so there are four seamers, but no traditional English ones. That’s the halfway stage, and the Aussies have the honour of making the lowest score against England in their past 13 T20 games.
Updated
9th over: Australia 56-3 (Finch 22, Stoinis 22) Morgan wants to stay on but eventually the physio leads him off. Sam Billings comes on as 12th man and Jos Buttler takes over as captain. Rashid, given a slip by Buttler, restricts the batsmen to four singles. And now Morgan is back! It’s all happening.
Here’s Brian Withington. “I see Rashid and Buttler are vying for the Stuart Broad Review of the Series Award. Nice.”
Updated
Morgan injured!
Another dive in the infield, a half-stop, and Morgan seems to have broken a finger. Or dislocated it. Just when he was fielding like a demon.
Updated
8th over: Australia 52-3 (Finch 20, Stoinis 20) It’s a double change with Wood giving way to Chris Jordan, England’s quiet hero from the other night. He tries a slowish bouncer, which doesn’t go well – Stoinis pulls it for six. Another bad ball, a half-volley outside off, is sweetly struck but Morgan pulls off a superb save at short extra. England still on top, but the Aussies are hanging there, and managing to go at a run a ball.
Updated
7th over: Australia 41-3 (Finch 19, Stoinis 10) Curran is off again as it’s time for Adil Rashid. He has a bizarre review for LBW against Finch, following a perfect forward defensive. Finch survives, as he needs to – for Australia to get a decent score here, he probably has to make 70. But that’s a fine first over from Rashid, who concedes only two.
“Afternoon Tim,” says Paul Billington. “Did Australia send out a nightwatchman just then? If so, it didn’t work too well.” Ha.
Updated
6th over: Australia 39-3 (Finch 18, Stoinis 9) Morgan sticks with Wood, but the magic deserts him. He strays onto leg stump, giving Marcus Stoinis a cheap four, and then overpitches, allowing Stoinis to play a straight drive that is the shot of the day so far. And the Powerplay closes at 39-3, whereas England’s average, when bowling, in their past 11 games, is 59-1.
Updated
5th over: Australia 30-3 (Finch 18, Stoinis 0) Archer has just bowled his best spell since last summer – and Morgan takes him off! Steve Smith celebrates by pulling Tom Curran for four and six. In between, Morgan beats him outside off, but Smith would surely rather face Curran’s allsorts than Archer’s bullets... Not to worry! Morgan makes up for it with a superb pick-up and underarm throw.
Here’s Scott Roberts. “Sorry to be a nitpicker about Tom van der Gucht’s email [14:15] which referenced Steven Finn, but he was actually almost exclusively bowling slower ball off-cutters into the pitch to Surrey last night (very effectively actually), as he did bowl a genuine seamer at one point that was high 80s mph. He has, though, altered his action, and now seems to have more of a slingy low arm, which looks very well suited to T20s.
“As an aside, it’s a welcome relief to see Jofra bowling from close to the stumps again.”
Wicket! Smith run out Morgan 10 (Australia 30-3)
Direct hit! By Morgan at midwicket, with one stump to aim at, as Smith went for a quick single that just wasn’t there. The Aussies are in all kinds of trouble.
Updated
4th over: Australia 20-2 (Finch 18, Smith 0) Finch edges Wood, off the toe-end, and picks up a streaky four as it squirts past the only slip. There should be three slips and a gully. And then Finch gets four more off the other edge as Wood goes wide on the crease and a Harrow drive flies past short fine leg. It’s a mystery why fine leg is up: England conceded at least four fours that way on Friday.
3rd over: Australia 10-2 (Finch 8, Smith 0) Archer beats Finch, who’s stuck on the crease like a rabbit dazzled by a fast bowler’s medallion. Finch hits back, flicking a bouncer for six. But then Archer has his riposte – a cross between a Jaffa and an Exocet missile. This is riveting. If you’re anywhere near a telly, do switch on BBC1.
2nd over: Australia 3-2 (Finch 1, Smith 0) You wait ages for an England breakthrough in the Powerplay, and then two come along at once. The new policy of going hell for leather at both ends has paid off.
Updated
Wicket!! Carey c Buttler b Wood 2 (Australia 3-2)
Another one! Carey steps away to have a mow and succeeds only in giving Buttler another simple catch. If there was a crowd in, they’d be going bananas.
1st over: Australia 1-1 (Finch 0, Carey 1) That’s a fabulous over from Jofra Archer, fast, hostile and finding movement. Warner left the first ball, played and missed the second and gloved the third. Then Alex Carey, promoted to have a hit, almost ran out Aaron Finch. England on top already.
Updated
Wicket! Warner c Buttler b Archer 0 (Australia 0-1)
A snorter from Jofra, jagging in. The finger goes up, Warner reviews, but it brushed the glove and he’s gone. For once in T20, England have an early scalp.
And another, from Tom van der Gucht. “I enjoyed watching Middlesex and Surrey at the weekend,” he says, “and it left me with a few Gary Nayloresq thoughts.” Is that -esque, or esquire? “1. Ben Foakes is a seriously handsome guy: he looks like one of the dishy aristocratic characters you see on The Crown or visiting Downton Abbey. 2. It was both pleasing and slightly saddening to see Finn bowling – watching the man once tipped to hit 100mph lolloping in and hit the mid-to-high 70s, making me daydream about what might have been. 3. If Topley had been England’s death bowler against Australia, we probably wouldn’t have won. 4. Jamie Overton seems to have some gears to his bowling. 5. It was great to see county games on Sky rather than them showing the Caribbean Premier League, or endless repeats of previous series, or the admittedly excellent KP documentary.”
An email! “We’re all glued to the OBO coverage,” says Tommy Marlow. “These matches are a real late-summer bonus. Good of the Aussies to come all this way for the series. Do they have their own private jet with a well-stocked fridge with David Boon levels of tinnies and chilled glasses?” Ha – they probably did take a private jet this time. I saw somewhere that they landed at East Midlands Airport. The glamour.
We have another nomination for naming the T20 Ashes. “The Stramashes?” says Rob Jacques. And he knows his words – he sets cryptic crosswords for several newspapers, under various aliases.
Updated
Teams: as you were
Both teams are unchanged. Melting middles? They’re back for seconds.
Australia 1 Warner, 2 Finch (capt), 3 Smith, 4 Maxwell, 5 Stoinis, 6 Carey (wkt), 7 Agar, 8 Cummins, 9 Starc, 10 K Richardson, 11 Zampa.
England 1 Buttler (wkt), 2 Bairstow, 3 Malan, 4 Banton, 5 Morgan (capt), 6 Moeen, 7 T Curran, 8 Jordan, 9 Rashid, 10 Wood, 11 Archer.
Toss: Australia win and bat first
After choosing to chase on Friday, Aaron Finch feels like having a bat. Eoin Morgan would have bowled first, as usual, so the toss wasn’t actually needed.
Preamble: it's the mini-Ashes, and it's on BBC1
Afternoon everyone and welcome to a T20 series between England and Australia that has already given us a cliffhanger. The first game was shaping as a piece of cake for the Aussies, only to end up leaving egg on their faces. The result was the one that has featured in their nightmares for 15 years: England won by two runs. These are the mini-Ashes, and they could do with a name of their own. My suggestion would be the Thrashes.
It was a curious contest that unfolded on Friday. What do you call a cricket team with a beginning and an end, but no middle? Australia. Or, indeed, England.
Only the top order, on both sides, turned up. For England, the top three made 118 runs off 79 balls, while the next six scraped 36 off 41. For Australia, the top three made 122 off 90, and the other five managed 29 off 30. Both teams were like Gü puddings – when the heat was on, they melted in the middle.
The difference between them lay not in the travails of the Aussie middle order, who were marginally less bad than their opposite numbers. It was more to do with the scoring rates of the two batsmen on each side who did well. Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan motored along at a personal rate of nine runs an over, making 110 between them off 72 balls, while David Warner and Aaron Finch could only manage eight (104 off 79). Asked whether Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell had blown it by holing out to Adil Rashid, Finch said no. “I’d probably be more critical of myself and Davey, who got us off to a good start and neither of us really kicked on to have a match-winning contribution.”
Both sides have a simple solution to their soft underbellies. England could move Buttler, their best finisher, back down to No.5 and allow Tom Banton to resume the role that suits him as Jason Roy’s understudy. Australia could bring in Marnus Labuschagne, whose love affair with England continued when he made a hundred off 51 balls in the intra-squad warm-ups.
Of the two, a call-up for Labuschagne seems the more plausible. Eoin Morgan likes giving Buttler the chance to bat right through, even though he tends not to (he averages 42 as a T20i opener, but has never stayed in for 50 balls) and he and Jonny Bairstow seldom look comfortable together. England seem more likely to tinker with their tail, which was alarmingly long on Friday with Tom Curran at No.7. They may be wondering why on earth they left out David Willey, who would solve two pressing problems with his lower-order biffing and habit of taking wickets in the Powerplay.
The series could do with an Australian victory to tee up a decider on Tuesday. After Friday’s near-tie, fairness, too, would demand that – and we Britons are great believers in fair play, aren’t we? But there are three big incentives for England to win. They can seal the series, after failing to do so last week against Pakistan. They can go top of the T20i Rankings, knocking the Aussies off their perch. And then, more viscerally, they can beat the Old Enemy. This is Australia’s seventh visit to these shores in nine summers, and could be the fourth to end without a single win.
Play starts at 2.15pm and the forecast for Southampton is pretty good, with just a 10pc chance of a shower. For the second Sunday afternoon running, anyone in Britain can watch on BBC television. It’s like the John Player League all over again.
See you just after 1.45 for the toss and the teams. In the meantime, do join Tanya Aldred as she covers the county scene, including the first gig on Ian Bell’s farewell tour.
Updated
