It’s the England and Wales Cricket board-as i like to point out
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Never mind the USA and Canada…this is the big one…
6pm BST
And Phil Salt is Welsh…being from Gog country😀
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Australia vs England
June 8, Bridgetown, 1pm local, 5pm GMT, 10.30pm IST
Big picture - Defending champions under the pump (again)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions - who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy - against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format - and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan - but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh, would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy - having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head-to-head record is less impressive in T20, however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
ESPN
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Live on Sky SportsCricket ,5 Sports Extra radio in the UK.
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I’ll be watching.
