England vs Australia 2020: The Rose Bowl Southampton pitch report and weather conditions
Seven years after Aaron Finch blew away the English bowling attack in Southampton, Australia and England gear up to play a 3-match T20I series at the same venue. The current Australian skipper Finch had played an unbelievable knock of 156 runs at The Rose Bowl in 2013 to help the visitors defeat their Ashes rivals by 39 runs.
The English team has a fair amount of match practice heading into this contest, and that factor could help them trounce Australia in this T20I series. Australia will play their first international game after the COVID-19 break, and even though the Aussies have played some intra-squad practice matches, they might take some time to shrug off their rust.
Speaking of the head-to-head record between the two teams in Southampton, Australia and England have clashed twice. The home team recorded a 100-run victory in the first match, while Australia beat them in the second game.
With Southampton set to host the upcoming three T20Is, here's a look at the venue's pitch report and the weather forecast for the next few days.
The Rose Bowl Southampton pitch report
The Rose Bowl in Southampton has hosted five T20I matches, and 160-170 will prove to be a par score on this surface. The teams batting first emerged victorious in the first three games, while England won the last two matches while chasing the target.
Southampton hosted its last T20I match in 2017, where the South African team managed to post 142 runs on the board at the loss of three wickets. England chased down the target in only 14.3 overs, riding on Jonny Bairstow's 35-ball 60.
Even though the batsmen dominated the previous game, Liam Dawson picked up three wickets in Southampton's last two T20Is, which shows that the pitch has something for the spin bowlers.
The Rose Bowl Southampton weather conditions
Rain played the spoilsport in the two Tests between England and Pakistan held in Southampton, but there are zero predictions for rainfall on 4th and 8th September.
However, there might be a rain interruption during the second T20I as the weather department has predicted light rainfall during the match time on 6th September.