Previews

England return to T20 action

Author: Lynda Collins
Date: 28/08/2009
Cricket betting

Following the dramatic end to the Ashes series, England and Australia lock horns in two Twenty20 internationals.

Both games take place at Old Trafford, the first on Sunday and the second on Tuesday.

Online betting favourites England, captained by Paul Collingwood in the absence of Andrew Strauss, will be buoyant after regaining the little urn and will be hoping to keep the Aussies on a downer.

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Collingwood leads a side much-changed from the Test series, with the most notable absentees Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff - with the latter facing months of recuperation after surgery on a knee injury.

Stepping into the England set-up are the likes of talented left-hander Eoin Morgan, Owais Shah and Kent opener Joe Denly, who will be hoping to be handed a first chance to shine on the international stage.

Ravi Bopara is also back after being dropped for the crucial fifth Test at The Oval, while all-rounders Luke Wright and Adil Rashid are handed opportunities to impress.

Australia will be led by Michael Clarke, with Ricky Ponting having returned home for a break, with the younger man keen to show that he has the abilities to lead on a more regular basis in the future.

The Baggy Greens' squad also has a number of fresh faces following the Ashes disappointment, with left-handed opener David Warner expected to shine.

The middle order will be bolstered by David Hussey, Callum Ferguson and Adam Voges, while big-hitting all-rounder Cameron White has plenty of experience of English conditions from a spell with Somerset.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Paine will hope to show up well in the absence of broken finger victim Brad Haddin, while paceman Brett Lee will be itching to get involved after failing to feature in the Test series.

Another notable addition to the Australian ranks is Dirk Nannes, a giant left-armer who played for the Netherlands in the ICC World Twenty20 a matter of months ago.

The two sides have met on three previous occasions in T20 internationals, with Australia holding a 2-1 advantage.

Ahead of their 2005 Ashes success England thrashed the Aussies by 100 runs at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, with Collingwood playing a starring role in making 46, before taking two wickets with his medium-pacers.

On tour Down Under 18 months later, England were easily beaten by 77 runs at the SCG after the hosts had racked up 221-5 from their 20 overs.

The most recent clash of the two teams took place at the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa, where Australia dished out an eight-wicket thrashing at Newlands in Cape Town after restricting England to a mere 135 all out.

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