England v Australia 2nd ODI: 5 Battles to look forward to in today’s game
The Australian team acutely felt the absence of their star opener David Warner and former captain Steve Smith in the 1st ODI against England at Oval. Their batting faltered badly after they chose to bat first and despite the Australia bowlers making a game of it, it must be said that a better batting effort might have seen them win the game. It is a 5 match series and today’s 2nd ODI at Cardiff is a game that Australia simply cannot afford to lose.
Against the world’s number 1 ranked team, it would be close to impossible to win three games on the bounce and that makes the game such a crucial one. The game, though, will ultimately be decided by some of the individual battles between the players of either team tonight and here is a look at 5 of the most important ones that cricket fans will look forward to.
NOTE: - TO BE PUBLISHED TOMORROW. I AM SUBMITTING EARLY.
#5 Aaron Finch v Mark Wood
One of the most important factors that makes Mark Wood such an effective bowler is his ‘hit the deck’ style that is often disconcerting for batsmen and today the Englishman’s battle with Aaron Finch will be a vital one. The Australian opener struggled in the 1st game and could only make 19 off 24 before being dismissed but he would definitely like to get his team off to a fast start at Cardiff.
The bowler he would have to take on is Wood and it is going to be a fascinating battle. Finch is an excellent player of fast bowling but any kind of movement troubles him and Wood would have that at the back of his mind when he goes head to head with him.