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Cricket fans received a shocker on Friday (September 11) when Australia skipper Aaron Finch revealed the playing XI during the toss in the first One Day International (ODI) against England in Manchester.
The genius Aussie batsman Steve Smith was missing out from the final list. Before any speculation could fly in the air, Finch laid out the real reason. He revealed that Smith got a knock on his head while practising on Thursday (September 10).
Since Smith is not playing, Aussies picked Marcus Stoinis to bat at number three. Marnus Labuschagne, who didn’t play in the T20I series, has been named in the ODI team.
“We might have actually batted first, looks like a good wicket. Steve Smith misses out; he got a knock on his head while practising yesterday. Marcus Stoinis will bat at three. These games are a chance to improve, a chance to keep winning, we have played some good ODI cricket over the last season. We’re confident about moving in the right direction. Plenty of world-class players on the show should be a good series,” said Finch.
Jason Roy returns into action
Meanwhile, England captain Eoin Morgan after winning the toss decided to field first. Roy, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer are back in the ODI squad and have been named in the playing XI as well.
“Looks like a good wicket, could be a bit tacky. Hopefully, we will restrict them to a low score. Nice to have the senior players from the World Cup group back. The wind shouldn’t be a factor; we just need to play our game. They are a difficult side to beat; we should be at our best to beat them,” said Morgan.
Here are the playing XI:
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Marcus Stoinis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
England: Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Billings, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood.
