England's Eoin Morgan shakes hands with Aussie George Bailey after winning the toss.
© Getty Images
Melbourne: England skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bowl against Australia in their World Cup opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.
England have brought in Gary Ballance for Ravi Bopara while Australia left out spinner Xavier Doherty, preferring spinning all-rounder Glenn Maxwell. (Live Updates: Australia vs England)
Morning rain cleared to sunny skies for the start of the match with the MCG slowly filling towards an anticipated 90,000 full house.
"We were looking to bat, so we're very happy," said Australia captain George Bailey. "It looks a great wicket, and will be for the entire game and hopefully we will do well."
Morgan added: "It shouldn't change through the game but a bit of storm came through so maybe there's a bit of moisture as well. Ballance is in, batting at No. 3. Ravi's out. We've gone for the extra batter today.
"Everybody has been excited for this for some time now, so it will actually be a matter of holding guys back." (Live Scorecard)
Australia are peaking at the right time for a crack at their fifth World Cup triumph and have only lost one of their last 12 ODIs against all-comers.
England, chasing a maiden World Cup title, head into the tournament with fresh painful memories of three losses to the Australians, including a crushing 112-run defeat in the recent tri-series final.
Morgan's team have to turn around a wretched record of two wins from their last 15 ODI encounters in Australia.
The last of England's three losing World Cup finals was in Australia in 1992.
Teams
Australia - David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Steve Smith, George Bailey (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood.
England - Moeen Ali, Ian Bell, Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), James Taylor, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, James Anderson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK), Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)
TV Umpire: Billy Bowden (NZL)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)
Weather: Fine, humid
0 comments:
Post a Comment