CWC 2023: Australia vs England match preview

At the World Cup, Australia have won six and lost three matches to England.

After initial hiccups, Australia have turned around remarkably to win four out of four matches and are back in the reckoning for a semi-final berth. Winning the next three fixtures against England, Afghanistan and Bangladesh should see them through without any ifs and buts. Even if they don’t, they must ensure their net run-rate stays above a pumped-up Afghanistan, who are closing in to level them on points. If Australia win a single match from here on, their chances depend on the results of the other teams.

Glenn Maxwell will miss tomorrow’s clash owing to a concussion while playing golf along with Mitchell Marsh, who has flown back to the country for family reasons.

Meanwhile, titleholders England have been a shadow of their former selves, reeling at the bottom of the points table with a solitary win against Bangladesh out of their six outings. Although they haven’t officially crashed out of the tournament, a semi-final entry at this stage looks distant. Last week’s announcement saying the final placing on the points table would determine the teams in Champions Trophy 2025 means England need to drag themselves from tenth to eighth to avert further humiliation.

AUS vs ENG fantasy tips

# The return of Travis Head after missing the first part of the World Cup due to a hand fracture has galvanised Australia’s batting line-up. He struck a blistering 109 (67) on his comeback against New Zealand. Head has 350 runs while averaging 58.33 and striking at 147.67 in 2023, and should be among the first picks in the team.

# David Warner has racked up 413 runs in World Cup 2023, the highest run-getter for Australia so far. He should be a no-brainer.

# Adam Zampa has returned with a bang after struggling with back spasms early in the tournament. He has picked 4-47, 4-53, 4-8 and 3-74 against Sri Lanka,  Pakistan, Netherlands and New Zealand, respectively, to become the second-highest wicket-taker in the event with 16 scalps.

# Ben Stokes is due for a big one. Although a semi-final spot is a far-fetched thought, England’s Champions Trophy 2025 place is still at stake, and one can expect the flamboyant all-rounder to rise to the occasion given his reputation of rescuing his team from crisis.

Australia vs England: Predicted XI

Australia: David Warner, Travis Head, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.

England:  Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (c)(wk), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid.

AUS vs ENG: Dream11 team

Wicketkeepers: Josh Inglis

Batters: David Warner, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Travis Head, Dawid Malan,

All-rounders: Liam Livingstone

Bowlers: Adil Rashid, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa

Captaincy options: David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Travis Head

Potential swaps: Jos Buttler in place of Josh Inglis, Josh Hazlewood in place of Pat Cummins