Cricket’s oldest rivalry reignites in the Caribbean this weekend when Australia faces reigning champions England for their T20 World Cup group stage clash at Kensington Oval.
In a replay of the 2010 T20 World Cup final — which England won by seven wickets at the same venue — the heavyweights will lock horns to decide which nation tops the Group B table, should other matches play out as expected.
Jos Buttler’s men are hoping to become the first team to win consecutive T20 World Cup titles, but the undercooked squad has been left frustrated by a rain-affected home series against Pakistan and Wednesday’s washout against Scotland.
Meanwhile, Mitchell Marsh’s Australians have won five of their six T20 matches this year, including Thursday’s nervy triumph over Oman in Bridgetown.
The Ashes rivals were due to lock horns at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, but the MCG clash was abandoned because of weather — and forecasts aren’t promising ahead of Sunday’s match in the Barbados capital.
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“I know everyone talks about the rivalry of the Ashes, but this is T20 cricket,” veteran opener David Warner, playing his final tournament in Australian colours, told reporters this week.
“They’re the reigning champions, we have to respect that.
“We have to come out here and be on our game. It’ll be great to get momentum and get one up on them because you just never know in these pool games.
“Someone can turn it on and you can lose one.”
Australia’s T20 World Cup match against England gets underway at Kensington Oval on Sunday morning at 3am AEST.
CUMMINS LIKELY TO RETURN
Test captain Pat Cummins, following his lengthy Indian Premier League campaign and a gruelling flight to the Caribbean, ran drinks during Australia’s opening match against Oman, but the 31-year-old is expected to return for the England clash.
“I daresay Patty will come back in,” Marsh told reporters on Friday.
“He’s played a lot of cricket. He had a long travel. We wanted to make sure he was cherry ripe for this game.”
If selected, it would be Cummins’ first international appearance in the West Indies in any format, coming nearly 13 years after his Australian debut.
Meanwhile, fellow paceman Mitchell Starc is expected to be available for Sunday’s match despite failing to complete his fourth over against Oman, with the left-armer suffering cramps.
The 34-year-old donned a compression sleeve on his left calf during training on Friday, but otherwise showed no signs of nursing an injury.
“Starcy’s all good,” Marsh continued.
“Just a bit of cramping the other night. There was no unnecessary risks taken.
“He’s fit.”
Australia might be tempted to shoehorn Ashton Agar into the starting XI considering Kensington Oval’s spin-friendly conditions and the plethora of right-handed batters in England’s top order, while Nathan Ellis’ skiddy bowling could suit the deck’s low bounce.
However, unless national selectors decide to rest Starc, it would be difficult to justify breaking up the bowling attack that helped Australia win last year’s World Cup in India.
“No team yet,” Marsh confirmed.
“I think we certainly know the conditions we’re going to be faced with.
“With the 15 (players) we’ve got, we’ve got a lot of options with the team we can pick.
“We’re certainly not set on anything.
“We just want to pick the right team to win a certain match, then go from there.”
ARCHER RETURNS AFTER FOUR-YEAR WAIT
For the first time, England has speed demons Jofra Archer and Mark Wood at its disposal in the same ICC tournament.
The pace duo forms the fastest opening partnership in the tournament, while both have terrorised Australia in the Ashes furnace in 2019 and 2023 respectively.
However, Archer has not faced Australia in any format since an ODI in Manchester in 2020, with the Barbados-born bowler suffering repeated injury setbacks in the years since.
“They bowl 150km/h, so that’s always a threat,” Marsh said of Archer and Wood.
“They’re two quality bowlers and we’re looking forward to that challenge.”
Archer and Wood bowled commendably during Wednesday’s washout against Scotland, but the slow Kensington Oval deck, hosting its fifth match of the week, may not provide them much assistance against the Australians.
All-rounder Marcus Stoinis, named player of the match during Thursday’s victory over Oman, predicted that Archer and Wood’s pace could work in Australia’s advantage.
“Maybe the more pace on the ball maybe the truer it will play,” Stoinis explained to reporters.
“I think we saw (on Thursday) that the bowler who got a few to kick was the guy who was bowling medium pace – me.
“So maybe a bit more pace on the ball it might skid on. Hopefully it’s true.”
Warner echoed his teammate’s remarks: “You just use their pace … in T20 cricket you only have to get half an edge on it and it can go.
“You just have to adjust to the slowness of the wicket. Coming up against England, they’ve got a bit more pace so that’s going to be a little bit better.”
ENGLAND’S AUSSIE COACH UNDER PRESSURE
Matthew Mott’s tenure as England’s white-ball coach got off to a dream start.
After posting the highest ODI team total in history — 4-498 against the Netherlands in June 2022 — England won its second T20 World Cup title later that year.
Having previously mentored the Australian women’s team to an additional three World Cup titles, Mott had quickly established himself as one of the sport’s most successful white-ball coaches.
However, the Queenslander has been under pressure to hold his job following England’s pitiful performance during last year’s World Cup in India, where the reigning champions were bundled out in the group stage.
England could be relying on net run rate to qualify for the Super 8 stage if they lose to Australia, so Sunday’s match looms as a pivotal contest for Mott’s men.
“The rivalry, the tournament … it’s crucial now,” Wood said.
“Especially with weather around and the run rates being tight. If we can get ahead there, it will be easier when it gets down to the wire.
“You never need to get up for an Australia game, but it’s one that’s got more importance because of the points.
“It puts a different spin on things if we win that game compared to losing.
“It has a different look and feel.
“Lose, and I’m sure in the media there will be questions asked like the last World Cup in India, so it’ll be an important game for us and one we’ll desperately be trying to win.”
BUTTLER’S AUSSIE KRYPTONITE
Just as Ben Stokes has repeatedly foiled Australia in the Test arena, Jos Buttler has been a dominant force against the old enemy in the T20 format.
The England captain has compiled 542 runs at 45.16 with a strike rate of 150.97 against Australia in T20Is — only Indian superstar Virat Kohli boasts more runs.
Buttler’s most recent scores against Australia have been 46, 61, 44, 77*, 71*, 68, 17 and 65, so knocking over the 33-year-old will be a priority for Australia’s bowlers on Sunday morning.
Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Nathan Eliis and Ashton Agar have each dismissed Buttler once in T20Is, but Pat Cummins has been far more successful against the right-hander, dismissing him on nine occasions across formats — more often than any other bowler.
Buttler has only managed 137 runs at 15.22 against the Australian Test captain, so their battle could dictate the match outcome.
Most times dismissing Jos Buttler in international cricket
9 — Pat Cummins (AUS)
9 — Mohammed Shami (IND)
8 — Ravindra Jadeja (IND)
8 — Jason Holder (WI)
MAXI DESPERATE FOR RUNS
Can Glenn Maxwell rediscover his best against England this weekend?
The Victorian’s lack of runs in T20 cricket remains a lingering concern for the Australians. During the recent Indian Premier League, the 35-year-old requested for himself to be dropped from the Royal Challengers Bangalore starting XI because he felt that he “wasn’t contributing in a positive way”.
Maxwell’s horror run of form continued in Bridgetown on Thursday, caught superbly by rival skipper Aqib Ilyas in the cover region for a golden duck.
During his last 14 T20 innings, Maxwell has managed 115 runs at 8.21 with five ducks, while his most recent scores against England were 1, 26, 6, 6, 8 and 8.
“We know that Maxi’s going to win us games,” Marsh declared ahead of Sunday’s match.