The T20I series between England and Australia has ended in a draw after the third and final match at Old Trafford was abandoned due to weather conditions.
Manchester was bombarded with rain this weekend, forcing Sunday’s series decider to fail.
Attention quickly shifts to the five-match ODI series, with England and Australia set to face each other at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
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“He’s down!” Livingstone leveled | 00:28
AUSSIE OPENER BATTLE GETS HOT
After dominating the Big Bash League over the past two summers, Matt Short finally got his chance to shine in Britain this week.
David Warner’s retirement has left a vacancy at the top of the Australian white-ball squad, and Short has emerged as a leading candidate to replace him.
Short and Travis Head were at their destructive best against England last week, especially in the Powerplay, opening a partnership of 86 and 52 in Southampton and Cardiff respectively.
The Adelaide Strikers opener has flipped the script on who should replace Warner in Australia’s white-ball squads – following his retirement, Warner shared a photo of himself alongside rising star Jake Fraser-McGurk and captioned the post: ‘All champions now. ”
Fraser-McGurk made his T20I debut against Scotland earlier this month, but the young Victorian was forced to forget a week in Edinburgh, with scores of 0, 16 and 0. He was promptly dropped for the first match against England in Southampton.
However, an illness setback for captain Mitchell Marsh opened the door for the 22-year-old’s return, cracking a maiden international half-century in Cardiff.
Fraser-McGurk’s fifty offered a glimpse of his potential, but it remains to be seen whether he has done enough to warrant selection for Australia’s next T20 series against Pakistan in November.
Before then, national selectors will be tasked with picking Australia’s next ODI opener, and there’s no shortage of options – Short, Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green, to name a few .
Short glances to capture Openerspot | 00:53
ABBOTT Seizes a rare opportunity
Sean Abbott is the leading wicket-taker in the history of the Big Bash League, but the Sydney Sixers seamer has rarely been given opportunities in the national T20 side.
Despite making his international debut in 2014, Abbott had played just 15 T20Is before this month’s tour of Britain.
However, an injury to Spencer Johnson opened the door for Abbott’s return to the T20 side, with the New South Welshman playing all five matches against Scotland and England.
The 32-year-old was the leading wicket-taker for Australia during the campaign, taking 11 scalps at 1.27pm, including a three-wicket haul in the first T20 against England in Southampton.
Despite his British exploits, Abbott is still behind Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Ellis in the pecking order, while fellow seamers Xavier Bartlett, Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson and Johnson will be fighting for opportunities in the national team in the near future. year.
Unless members of the ‘big three’ decide to step aside for the next 18 months, it is unlikely that Abbott will be part of the Australian squad for the next edition of the T20 World Cup, which will take place in the subcontinent.
PRESSURE BUILDING ON STOINIS
Marcus Stoinis was arguably Australia’s best player at the recent T20 World Cup, but the all-rounder is under increasing pressure to keep his international career alive.
The West Australian, who lost his place in the ODI squad last summer, struggled to make an impact with the bat in Britain this month, scoring 40 runs in four knocks at a strike rate of 105.26.
He also had a forgettable campaign with the ball against England, conceding 12.20 runs each across two matches in Southampton and Cardiff.
Stoinis, who lost his domestic contract earlier this year, will be 36 when the next edition of the T20 World Cup rolls around, and with Cameron Green and Aaron Hardie breathing down his neck, national selectors may soon be tempted to look to the future.
Epic crowd catch after Overton drop | 00:45
INGLIS’ STUNNING T20 WORLD CUP SNUB
In retrospect, the national selectors may wonder whether they backed the right wicketkeeper for this year’s T20 World Cup.
Matthew Wade and Josh Inglis were both named in the 15-player squad for the major tournament, but Inglis watched from the sidelines as Australia were knocked out of the Super Eight stages after defeats to Afghanistan and India.
The 36-year-old Wade had a tournament to forget, scoring 27 runs in four strokes. He was subsequently dropped from the T20 squad ahead of the UK tour, with Inglis donning the gloves in his absence.
And across five T20s against Scotland and England, Inglis hit 209 runs at 69.66, including a record-breaking century in Edinburgh.
Batting at number 4, the West Australian made valuable contributions with the bat at Southampton and Cardiff, posting a batting average of 181.73 during the T20 campaign.
Inglis has not only cemented his place in the Australian T20 squad for the foreseeable future, but also left fans wondering why he wasn’t picked sooner.
EVEN MORE PROOF ZAMPA IS UNAFFORDABLE
As evidenced by Ricky Ponting’s legendary commentary on Sky Sports, Australia struggle to win matches when the opposition gets the better of strike spinner Adam Zampa.
In T20I wins, the leggy has taken 83 wickets at 3.20pm with an economy rate of 6.38, while those figures drop to 27 scalps at 40.07pm with an economy rate of 8.49 in defeats.
Zampa was a standout performer in the series opener against England at Southampton, taking 2-20 from four overs in the Australian triumph, but he was torn to shreds by youngster Jacob Bethell in Cardiff on Friday, finishing 0-37 in a losing match. attempt.
It’s further proof that Zampa is the most important player in Australia’s white-ball teams.
“If teams beat Adam Zampa, Australia will find it difficult to win,” Ponting said.
“He is key for them in those middle-overs, making breakthroughs and breaking partnerships. That didn’t happen (in Cardiff).”
