Australia can wrap up the three-match ODI series against England in the second game at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, November 15, a day-night match starting at 2:30 PM local time, 9:00 AM IST. The hosts lead 1-0 after a seven-wicket win in Perth, and an England defeat in Adelaide would hand Australia the series with the third ODI in Hobart on November 18 still to play.
Perth was a statement from Australia’s next generation of fast bowlers. With Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood all rested ahead of the Test summer, 21-year-old Mahli Beardman took 6 for 24 on ODI debut, the best figures by an Australian on debut, ahead of Tony Dodemaide’s 5 for 21 in 1988. His five-for came in just 28 balls, the quickest by an Australian, and he was the youngest Australian to take an ODI five-for at 21 years, two months and 13 days. Xavier Bartlett took 1 for 46 and Spencer Johnson 3 for 42 as England were bowled out for 131, and Mitchell Marsh’s 50 from 30 balls sealed the chase with 159 balls to spare.
Tasmanian quick Riley Meredith will join the squad for the second and third ODIs in a pre-planned move, with no player leaving the group, and Nathan Ellis is still to return from a side strain. Australia’s possible XI, as named by Cricket Australia, is Marsh, Travis Head, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Matthew Renshaw, Jack Edwards, Bartlett, Johnson, Adam Zampa and Beardman, although the hosts could rotate their quicks given Beardman and Johnson only returned from back injuries at the start of the domestic season in September.
England, led by Harry Brook, have questions to answer after their batting collapse in Perth. Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Brook and Tom Banton made just 52 runs between them, and Root’s 17 from 36 balls in his 200th ODI summed up a difficult day. The tourists are already without Jacob Bethell, who needs surgery on his right knee, and Josh Tongue, out with a toe injury, so the batting must find a way against a young attack that can move the ball and bowl with real pace. Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Adil Rashid lead the bowling, and Adelaide Oval is traditionally one of the better batting grounds in the country, the likeliest of the three venues to produce big totals.
The series is also a marker for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and for Australia it is their last ODI assignment for eight months, with the Test format taking centre stage until the Ashes end in August next year. England need a win to keep the series alive; Australia need one more to take it.
Related:
Beardman’s Record Six-For on Debut Powers Australia to Seven-Wicket Win Over England in Perth
Root’s 200th ODI and Beardman’s Debut Headline Australia-England Series Opener in Perth
