Last Updated on 5 minutes ago by Charbel Coorey
Amid the sandpaper drama, it can be easy to forget Australia will be back in action on Friday against England in Perth.
The two teams will be seeking to strengthen their World Cup preparations, with the tournament kicking off in less than a year.
Australia are coming off a series defeat in South Africa where the loss of regular wickets was a key factor. England failed to reach the final of their tri-series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka, failing to defend 430 against the Lions before losing against Pakistan despite reducing them to 154/9 in pursuit of 242.
Australia predicted playing 11 for the 1st ODI against England at Perth Stadium
For Australia, questions remain regarding the makeup of the batting lineup. Is there room for an accumulator? Who will be the finisher? Can they take more wickets in the middle overs?
Australia possible 11 for opening ODI against England in Perth: 1. Mitchell Marsh (c), 2. Travis Head, 3. Cooper Connolly, 4. Josh Inglis (wk), 5. Matt Renshaw, 6. Cameron Green, 7. Jack Edwards, 8. Xavier Bartlett, 9. Adam Zampa, 10. Spencer Johnson, 11. Mahli Beardman
Jack Edwards is a strong chance of featuring in the XI given Cameron Green is expected to play only as a batter. The all-rounder showed promising signs in South Africa, taking 5/67 in the Johannesburg ODI in a performance that featured good death-bowling.
“I guess this week there may be some opportunities there with Greeny coming back from bowling,” Edwards said earlier this week, as quoted by Cricinfo.
“I just try and turn up and do the job that’s asked of me each day. I don’t try to think too much about the make-up of the side and the balance they’re going to go with.”
Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson and Mahli Beardman are expected to form the frontline pace attack. Should Beardman get the nod, it’ll be his ODI debut after impressing against Pakistan in a T20I earlier this year.
On the batting front, Cooper Connolly is expected to bat at three with Josh Inglis, Matt Renshaw and Green to follow. However, there remains no specialist finisher, so having set batters heading into the death overs will be key for Australia.
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