Can Australia halt England's ODI march?

OverviewAustralia v England
Brisbane
2nd ODI, 03:20 GMT

After a resounding victory at the MCG – their first international win of the tour – England will be desperate to follow up with another convincing display in the second day/night match of this five-game series.

For Australia, they have been forced to confront the jarring reality that England’s batsmen are regularly chasing down scores in excess of 300, and that they will need to push harder if they bat first than they were able to do at Melbourne. From 54 matches since the end of the 2015 ICC World Cup, from which England departed at the group stages with a vow to change their approach, they have gone past 300 on 25 occasions, winning 35 of those matches and losing just 15.

The hosts will be without Josh Hazlewood, out with a virus, so the young Western Australia fast bowler Jhye Richardson – who has clocked speeds up to 149kph so far – comes in to replace him. Pat Cummins meanwhile, the leading wicket-taker in the Ashes, is rested from the match, further weakening Australia’s fast-bowling stocks.

Form men

Aaron Finch (Aus)
Finch made a classy 107 at the MCG, albeit from 117 balls; while the all-rounder Marcus Stoinis smacked a 40-ball 60 at the death to get Australia up to 304/8.

**Jason Roy (Eng)**Roy's staggering 180 (16 fours; five sixes) is the highest score ever made by an England ODI batsman. His 151-ball masterclass underpinned England’s run-chase, and he was ably assisted by the relentless Joe Root, who finished 91 not out.

Conditions

The pitch for the Test match in November was not as quick as previous Gabba tracks, and we can expect more of the same here. On a generally excellent batting surface, the team batting first will be looking to go well beyond 300. Weather is set fair – sunny and pleasant with a high of 31 degrees.

Dangermen

Mitchell Starc (Aus)

Expensive at the MCG, as Jason Roy got to work in those opening overs, but Starc likes bowling at Brisbane and will be stung by his rough treatment in the first match. If Australia are to get back into this series, early wickets are crucial to stem the England juggernaut. If Starc can get amongst England’s top three, Australia will be right in the game.

Eoin Morgan (Eng)

Four years ago in the same fixture, Morgan made a brilliant century to reboot his international career, striking six sixes that day to underscore England’s 300/8, before an inspired James Faulkner innings saw Australia home by one wicket. Morgan is currently in a rich vein of form, with three ODI centuries since the start of 2017.

In a word:

“England's got to be up there as one of the best teams in the world in one-day cricket. It just looks like the way they play is for everyone to go really hard and Joe Root is the rock in the middle. That works for them and it's something that we might have to think about as well.” – Australia skipper Steve Smith

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Squads

AustraliaSteve Smith (c); Pat Cummins; Aaron Finch; Josh Hazlewood; Travis Head; Mitchell Marsh; Tim Paine; Jhye Richardson; Mitchell Starc; Marcus Stoinis; Andrew Tye; David Warner; Cameron White; Adam Zampa

EnglandEoin Morgan (c); Moeen Ali; Jonny Bairstow; Jake Ball; Sam Billings; Jos Buttler; Tom Curran; Alex Hales; Dawid Malan; Liam Plunkett; Adil Rashid; Joe Root; Jason Roy; David Willey; Chris Woakes; Mark Wood