WI vs AUS | 1st ODI: When & where to watch, pitch report, fantasy XI details

West Indies and Australia are all set to lock horns in the three-match ODI series slated to begin on July 21 in Barbados. The Caribbean side is coming into the series on the back of some brilliant display in the T20I fixtures that they won 4-1.

Australia on the side would be looking to make a comeback in the ODI series after they were thumped earlier on the tour.

But the visiting team might not have the services of their regular skipper Aaron Finch.

According to cricket.com.au, Finch was asked to perform “light duties” during the practice session to manage his knee injury.

There hasn’t been any confirmation that Finch would miss the game but the team management will have some work if the right-hander is ruled out.

For West Indies, coach Phil Simmons has said that he wants his batsmen to capitalise on the starts they get in order to put some good total on the board.

"We are looking for the way we batted to continue and improvements have to be made in the middle overs from 20-39 in order for us to get from 280-290 to the 320-330 we'll need against Australia," Simmons said. "We've been discussing that since the Sri Lanka series so now it's time to put it into action.”

Match Details

Match: WI vs AUS, 1st ODI, Australia tour of West Indies, 2021

Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Time: 12:00 AM (Jul 21)

Venue: Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

Probable XI

Australia: Josh Philippe, Mitchell Marsh, Moises Henriques, Alex Carey (c), Matthew Wade ( wk), Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Swepson, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc

West Indies: Andre Fletcher, Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Nicholas Pooran (c & wk), Andre Russell, Fabian Allen, Hayden Walsh, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas

Fantasy XI

Alex Carey, Shai Hope (C), Lendl Simmons, Matthew Wade, Kieron Pollard, Mitchell Marsh (VC), Sheldon Cottrell, Hayden Walsh Jr., Adam Zampa, Riley Meredith, Josh Hazlewood

West Indies ODI squad: Kieron Pollard (C), Shai Hope (VC), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Anderson Philip, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd

Australia squad for ODIs & T20Is: Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Agar, Wes Agar, Alex Carey, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Dan Christian, Riley Meredith, Ashton Turner, Jason Behrendorff.

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ENG vs PAK | 3rd T20I Preview: Change is the only constant but for distinguished reasons

England are probably one of those sides that can come roaring back at any given stage in the present scenario in limited-overs cricket and they did something similar during the on-going bilateral tie against Pakistan at home. The hosts lost the first match but made a fine return in the second to level the three-match T20I series and take it into the decider. Another major aspect of England cricket is the bold attitude and fearless way of playing the game not just on the field but off it too. The home side rested regular captain Eoin Morgan for the second clash against Pakistan in Leeds. England haven’t really faced much of a problem with their batting barring the opening. While they have lost early wickets in both the clashes, the middle-order especially Livingstone has been one batsman who has held the things from one end. He in fact notched up a ton in the first match which eventually went in vain as England failed to go over the line while chasing 233 but still managed to put 201 before getting bundled out in the last over. The hosts have crossed the 200-run mark in both the matches and this is certainly a good sign as they go into the deciding match. One issue that England were facing was leaking runs but that was resolved in the last match as well. So for now, the bowlers are back in the groove, the middle-order is among runs and they only need a steady start to the innings. On the other hand, Pakistan who generally bank on their bowling attack to win games are struggling at the moment. The bowlers have been hammered for runs all around the park in both the matches. Apart from this, the persisting problem of Babar Azam’s lack of scoring runs while chasing is another major concern. The right-handed batsman hasn’t been impressive whenever he is up for a chase and this is what happened in the second encounter. His scoring rate dips which eventually creates pressure on the other batsmen. The skipper needs to take up the responsibility if Pakistan have to win this series else they might suffer another setback. Match Details Match: England vs Pakistan, Third T20I Date and Time: 20th July 2021, 11:00 pm IST Venue: Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester Pitch Report The track at old Trafford might give some assistance to the batsmen. The pitch can help the batsmen score runs at a brisk pace and with the kind of batting line ups that the sides comprise, a high-voltage drama can be expected. So, if you win the toss, elect to bat and post a big total. Team News England: England captain Eoin Morgan was rested in the second match and is likely to return back for the decider. The team is overall looking in good touch and would look to replicate the second match’s performance. But there is still a void that needs to be filled and that is getting a steady start. The English team has tried a couple of different opening combinations but that haven’t really worked for them. Jos Buttler who led the side in the second match though notched up a fifty. Pakistan: Pakistan are in a spot of bother at the moment as their most dangerous weapon, fast bowling is not looking in good shape. Except for Shaheen Afridi, the bowlers have been hit for plenty and the absence of Hasan Ali has also affected them thoroughly. Another issue is Babar Azam’s striking rate while Pakistan are chasing a target and Mohammad Hafeez’s failure with the bat. The right-hander did show his class in the first match but looked off colour in the second. In all, Pakistan are left with a lot of work before they take the field in the last T20I. Probable XI England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Matthew Parkinson Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Sohaib Maqsood, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Azam Khan, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain Fantasy XI Mohammad Rizwan, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Babar Azam (VC), Mohammad Hafeez, Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali (C), Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Chris Jordan

Mayank Agarwal, Pujara under spotlight; Rahul to keep as India buckle up for England Test series

Team India have come back from a month-long break after the conclusion of the World Test Championship final against New Zealand with a three-day against a selected county side before taking on England in a five-match Test series. India have suffered massive setbacks since the WTC final as their first choice opener Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the series and another match-winning batsman Rishabh Pant tested positive for Covid-19. However, Pant has recovered in a big relief for the team management but he is yet to join the squad in Durham and won’t take part in the practice game that has been granted the status of a first-class game. The team management has confirmed that KL Rahul will wear the wicketkeeping gloves in the game as even Wriddhiman Saha is spending his time under quarantine after being deemed close contact with the throwdown specialist. KL Rahul has batted at the top order before in his Test career but the team management has given a strong hint that the right-hander will be considered only for a spot in the middle order. Hence, a lot of spotlights will be on Mayank Agarwal, who is all set to get back in the playing XI in the first Test in Nottingham except for some mishaps. Agarwal was found wanting in the first two Tests of the series against Australia late last year, and hence it will be an audition of a sort for the Karanatka lad to press his case for the first Test. The game will begin as a first-class fixture and hence the sides will have to play with a pre-decided playing XI and it would interesting to see the team composition of India. They had played both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the WTC final against New Zealand. Jadeja’s batting has improved big time in the last couple of years while at the same time Ashwin has now become undroppable due to improvement in his overseas performances. Ashwin is also the only member of the squad who has had some match practice after the big WTC final as he played for Surrey against Kent in the County Championship. He returned with an impressive seven wickets across the two innings of the game and looks certain to start the series against England even if the Virat Kohli-led team management decides to go with a sole spinner in the playing XI. The team management will also have its eyes on Cheteshwar Pujara, whose method of batting at the number of three attracted some attention in the aftermath of the loss to New Zealand. Pujara has been known for occupying the crease for a long time while the other batsmen play aggressive cricket around him, but Virat Kohli has hinted that the team management might look to walk away from that idea of bating.

Shreyas Iyer opts out of Royal London ODI Cup stint with Lancashire

India’s middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of England’s domestic one-day tournament the Royal London Cup. Iyer had dislocated his shoulder in the first ODI of the series against England that preceded the Indian Premier League and the batsman missed out on the big event as well. He is recovering well to get back to playing at the highest level in the second half of the IPL 14 but has given the Lancashire stint a miss. “I am gutted to not be able to play for Lancashire this summer, a Club that has such history and ambition. I hope to play at Emirates Old Trafford for Lancashire at some point in the future,” Iyer said in a statement issued by the Lancashire County. Lancashire’s director of cricket Paul Allot expressed disappointment at the absence of Iyer for the tournament but said that the county respect his decision keeping in mind the long-term fitness. "We are obviously very disappointed, as we were thoroughly looking forward to welcoming Shreyas to Emirates Old Trafford. Ultimately Shreyas' long-term fitness is of paramount importance and Lancashire Cricket fully respects the decision,” " Lancashire's director of cricket, Paul Allott, said. Iyer was a regular number for India in the ODI cricket before injuring his shoulder and might find it tough to get back in the side with the likes of Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan finding their feet in the middle order.

Rishabh Pant recovers from Covid, to join squad on July 21

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