“It will probably be one of our most difficult games”; England captain Eoin Morgan anticipates a tough test against “joint second favorites” Australia and says Mark Wood is unlikely to take a chance in Abu Dhabi; Pat Cummins hoping to land early before The Ashes
England captain Eoin Morgan has prepared for another tough test against Australia, believing that the old rivals are second favorites to reach the final of the T20 World Cup, behind India.
Both teams boast four points in their Super 12 group after starting their campaigns with two consecutive victories, and whoever wins in Dubai on Saturday night will take a huge step to seal a spot in the semi-finals.
“It will probably be one of our toughest games,” Morgan said. “Australia is a very strong team, they have won two out of two, just like us, and they have started well.
“Coming into the tournament, they would probably be considered second favorites, along with us. They are a team that we know quite well, we have played a lot against them for several years.”
Mark Wood is unlikely to return as the fast-paced bowler was left without emphatic victories over the West Indies and Bangladesh after receiving a shot in his left ankle, while locksmith Tom Curran has a knee injury. in progress.
However, the rapid turnaround in matches – England play Sri Lanka in Sharjah 48 hours after their Australia match in Dubai – could lead them to shuffle their package, with Wood a more promising option to appear on Monday.
“They are progressing really well,” Morgan said. “Where we were before the first game, they have come a long way.
“We are going to make a call about that tomorrow to see how the training is and then tomorrow we will give them a call.”
The strict kit regulations of the International Cricket Council during world tournaments have denied England the opportunity to wear their ‘Moment of Unity’ jerseys with messages of all forms of anti-discrimination.
England launched the initiative in their home matches over the summer, but during this tournament they have joined the West Indies and Bangladesh in kneeling, opting for a reciprocal approach to the anti-racism gesture.
And Morgan revealed that kneeling for the remainder of the tournament is something that will be discussed in the training session on Friday afternoon.
Morgan added: “From our side, not being able to have our ‘Moment of Unity’ before the game is something we’ve talked about before the two games we’ve played.
“Later this afternoon we will talk about it again, because if we are not allowed to take our position against all discrimination, we must try to find something else that makes a difference.
“We can do (the ‘Unity Moment’) in bilateral series both at home and away. We will talk as a team and try to think of something we can do.”
Meanwhile, Pat Cummins is aiming to deliver an early blow to England before this winter’s Ashes, as well as helping Australia advance to the semi-finals.
Whoever wins in Saturday’s competition in Dubai will get a little closer to a place in the knockout stage, but with less than six weeks to go to the first Ashes test in Brisbane, Cummins is eager to overtake England.
Australia was beaten in the last World Cup meeting between the teams, with England winning by eight wickets en route to glory from more than 50 two years ago, but Cummins insisted the meeting will be unrelated to this weekend. .
“I don’t think so, it was a while ago, different format,” he said. “It’s always huge. We play a lot against England, I think the style of play is quite similar, we like to keep going.”
“They’ve been pretty much in shape for the last few years in white ball cricket. It’s a great game, we know these guys very well, we know it’s a great game in the context of reaching those semi-finals.
“I would say they are probably one of the four or five teams (that could win this tournament), it’s a format where you feel like anyone back in the day could beat anyone else. They are at the top level.
“I always enjoy facing England. There are some players who are coming (to Australia) this summer from this side, so it will be great to have one on the board against them early.”
England’s next Super 12 match will take place on Saturday, when they face Australia, live on Sky Sports Cricket starting at 2.30pm.
