England and Australia are all set to face each other in the first of the three-match T20I series today at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. The visitors have already warmed up for the series with a 3-0 win over Scotland earlier this month and will be keen on continuing their winning run on their UK tour. On the other hand, England are playing T20Is for the first time since India knocked them out of the World Cup in June.
The hosts will miss their skipper Jos Buttler due to a right calf injury and Phil Salt will stand in as captain for him in this series. Moreover, the newly appointed white-ball head coach Brendon McCullum is yet to take over with Marcus Trecothick being at the helm for now. England have already named their playing XI handing debuts to Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox and Jamie Overton in a new-look T20I side.
Meanwhile, Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh opted not to reveal his team's playing XI but hinted at Josh Hazlewood's return who missed the Scotland leg of the tour due to a minor calf injury. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are resting from the T20Is and hence, the onus will be on Hazlewood and a new-look bowling attack to deliver.
Southampton Pitch Report for ENG vs AUS 1st T20I
There isn't much grass on the surface at the Rose Bowl in Southampton which means the pitch will be good for batting. A sellout crowd will definitely get to see high scores but the boundaries are bigger at this venue. Moreover, the team winning the toss is expected to bowl first.
Rose Bowl - Southampton T20I Numbers Game
Matches played - 16
Matches won batting first - 11
Matches won bowling first - 5
Average 1st inns score - 165
Highest total - 248/6 by AUS vs ENG
Lowest total - 79/10 by AUS vs ENG
Highest chase - 158/4 by ENG vs AUS
Squads
England (Playing XI) - Philip Salt(w/c), Will Jacks, Jordan Cox, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Sam Curran, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Reece Topley
Australia - Travis Head, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mitchell Marsh(c), Josh Inglis(w), Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Cameron Green, Adam Zampa, Sean Abbott, Riley Meredith, Josh Hazlewood, Xavier Bartlett, Matthew Short, Aaron Hardie, Cooper Connolly
