Steve Smith captains Australia in England ODI decider

September 29

Captain Mitch Marsh is out of the one-day international decider against England at Bristol, yet another victim at the end of Australia’s injury- and illness-plagued tour of the UK.

Reported as being “a bit sore” following the last match at Lord’s on Friday, his absence means Steve Smith takes the captain’s armband for the fifth match on Sunday, with the series locked at 2-2 after England’s fightback from two down.

Smith won the toss and inserted England, hoping to take advantage of the early overcast conditions.

There is an ODI debut for 21-year-old allrounder Cooper Connolly, while Matt Short and Aaron Hardie are brought back into the XI, with Marsh, Sean Abbott and Alex Carey out of the side that lost heavily at Lord’s.

“Mitch is just a bit sore from the last game, no good today,” Smith reported at the toss.

Leading the side for a series decider, he added: “It’s great … must-win games are what you play for.”

Australia have had no luck with injuries, losing key players throughout the tour, not to mention the illness that has dogged the camp over the past three weeks.

Harry Brook, England’s captain, said he would have bowled too if he had won the toss, explaining: “Just because of the overcast conditions and a little bit of a rain forecast for later on.”

There was no place in the hosts’ side for pace ace Jofra Archer, whose workload is being managed carefully. That may come as a relief to the Aussies after his hostile return to his best at Lord’s.

Rain, though, could yet have the final say in an already weather-affected series, with the forecast not looking good for later in the match.

Teams:

England: Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Harry Brook (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Adil Rashid.

Australia: Travis Head, Matthew Short, Steve Smith (capt), Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.

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