One Day International cricket will return tomorrow after a long gap four months as England takes on the neighbours Ireland, in what will be the first-ever match of the much talked about ODI Super League. Hosts England is high on confidence after winning the Test series against the West Indies while the Irish boys will be hoping to make a statement against the World Champions. The three-match series will also for the first time witness the third umpire calling the front-foot no-ball.
England has named a completely different squad to what they put up for the Test series against the West Indies. Star all-format players like Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer has been rested owing to their commitments in red-ball cricket.
This doesn’t mean that they have assembled a weak line-up, the white ball pool for the World Champions are so strong that their secondary squad looks too strong for the visitors Ireland. This also comes in as the perfect opportunity for these limited-overs specialists to seal their spot in the permanent eleven.
England Predicted Playing XI:
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For the visitors Ireland, this series is much more important than what it is for England. This being the first-ever series that will be played under the name of the ODI Super League, the series plays a vital role in deciding the chances of Ireland moving forward during the process of the 2023 World Cup qualification.
Ireland hadn’t had a great limited-overs campaign over the last few years, and are falling below the-their set standards. Keeping this in mind, the Board has announced a comparatively young squad with many debutants lined up to make an impact on the international stage. Still their experienced campaigners like Paul Stirling and inform captain Andrew Balbirnie will have to step up big time to fancy their chances against the World Champions.
Ireland Predicted Playing XI:
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English all-rounder Moeen Ali showed great promise in both batting and bowling department during the warm-up matches and will one of the most important players to look out for in this series. The absence of the regular middle-order batsmen will help him prove his worth at the top of the middle order.
Jonny Bairstow who hit a century in the inter-squad practice match looks in great touch and will be raring to make an impact. He scored 127 of 88 balls in that match.
England’s white-ball captain Eoin Morgan, who will be playing an international match after a long gap will be all fired up to smash the Irish bowlers keeping in mind the UAE IPL two months from now, where he will have to play a vital role for KKR.
Ireland captain Andy Balbirinie, who was in great nick before the lockdown began will be hoping to carry on his outstanding form to help Ireland in the long process of World Cup qualification through the ODI Super League.
England’s young gun Tom Banton will be the most promising talent to look out for in this series. The absence of regular players is bound to give him opportunities in the playing XI. Flat hard deck of Southampton will suit his style of play.
To minimize the traveling and to maintain the proposed bio-secure bubble all the three matches of the ODI series will be played at the Rose Bowl, Southampton. The first match will take place on the 30th of July.
Southampton traditionally is a high scoring venue and will be the perfectly suited flat pitch for England’s hard-hitting limited-overs specialist batsman. A high scoring game is expected with 300 being the par score. Over the years team batting first has gone onto win more than 50 percent of the matches in this venue.
No rain is predicted on the match day and a full uninterrupted match is expected.
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