Weary Australia look to seal series

Match facts

September 11, 2015
Start time 10.30am local (0930 GMT)

Play 03:11

Big Picture

England's win at Old Trafford kept alive hopes of beating Australia in an ODI series for the first time since 2012, as well as eased fears that they will fall below Bangladesh in the ICC rankings. Even a 4-1 defeat will see England remain in sixth, for now, while two more victories would drag them up to within range of Sri Lanka in midtable.

The last time England managed consecutive ODI wins over Australia was also three summers ago. That 4-0 win was among the peaks of Alastair Cook's roundhead reign as captain but the ODI world has shifted dramatically since then - and England have at last shown signs of catching up. Only Eoin Morgan and Steven Finn remain from the 2012 NatWest Series (with Stuart Broad's future undecided) and pulling back the No. 1-ranked side from a 2-0 lead would be worth a campaign medal for Trevor Bayliss, Paul Farbrace and their new model army.

They will attempt to do so in front of a packed house at Headingley, home of the back-to-back County Champions, Yorkshire. The locals have sometimes struggled to work up enthusiasm for England visits - and a significant number will be at Lord's hoping to see their team lift the Championship pennant on Friday - but, having paid their shilling, they will demand England maintain the standards on display across the Pennines.

Australia, too, can claim a strong Yorkshire connection, from the coach, Darren Lehmann, through to Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell - both of whom have had to make do with representing Yorkshire's 2nd XI this season. Coming towards the end of a long tour that has yielded rather less success than was promised, Australia would surely like to tap into the prevailing mood of celebration by sealing the series with a game to spare.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLLWW
Australia LWWWW

In the spotlight

Alex Hales is hot-and-cold player. Having come into the one-day series on a blazing run of scores for Nottinghamshire - 85, 9, 81, 58, 189 and 62 - he has felt the chill of Autumn more than most: four innings against Australia, including the T20, have tallied 52 runs and a high score of 22. Hales has still only played 17 ODI innings and, with a couple of blistering half-centuries against New Zealand earlier this year, looked to be finding his feet. He has, however, lost form at the wrong time and has been outshone by his opening partner Jason Roy in the series so far.

Pat Cummins, 22 years old and with 16 ODI caps to his name, could find himself the most experienced member of the Australia pace attack on Friday. If Mitchell Starc is rested, then Cummins - comfortably the quickest bowler on either side - will be required to step up and lead the way. He has impressed with his pace, steepling bouncer and impressive control; he is the leading wicket-taker in the series, with the best average and, among pace bowlers to have delivered more than eight overs, the lowest economy. Perhaps more importantly, he has avoided injury - this will be his fifth consecutive ODI and his longest run in the side.

Team news

Chris Woakes has been ruled out with a thigh injury, so England will be forced to change their attack - David Willey seems the most likely candidate, offering a left-arm angle as well as the potential for bludgeoning runs lower down the order. Mark Wood and Reece Topley are the other pace-bowling options in the squad.

England (possible) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 James Taylor, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 David Willey, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Steven Finn

Australia have already had three players withdraw from their squad and look set to give Mitchell Starc a rest after playing in all 12 of Australia's international fixtures in the West Indies, England and Ireland. John Hastings, called up as cover from Durham, could come in for his first ODI appearance since 2011.

Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 George Bailey, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Ashton Agar, 9 John Hastings, 10 James Pattinson, 11 Pat Cummins.

Pitch and conditions

England, in their stodgy former mould, still managed to knock up 294 under clear skies against India at Headingley last year and Lehmann said he expected the pitch the good for batting. The forecast is good, if a little cool, for Friday but an early start and any passing cloud cover could interest the seamers.

Stats and trivia

• England and Australia last contested an ODI at Headingley in 2005 (the scheduled fixture in 2013 was washed out)

• Australia have won 11 out of their last 13 ODIs against England

• Steven Finn needs two more wickets for 100 in ODIs

• If they play, Cummins, James Pattinson and John Hastings will form an Australia pace attack comprised of 41 caps between them

Quotes

"I was keeping tabs on the score on Twitter, looking every five minutes and there were texts flying around."
Adil Rashid couldn't join in with Yorkshire's Championship celebrations but enjoyed from afar

"We're all tired, but that's international cricket, that's what you do when you're representing your country."
Darren Lehmann reflects on the closing stages of a long period away from home