Key events
Team news: Carse in for Archer
England bring Brydon Carse for Jofra Archer, whose workload is being managed. Australia bring in Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cooper Connolly and Aaron Hardie for Marsh, Josh Hazlewood and the injured Xavier Bartlett
England Salt (c/wk), Jacks, Cox, Livingstone, Bethell, S Curran, C Overton, Carse, Rashid, Mahmood, Topley.
Australia Short, Head (c), Fraser-McGurk, Inglis (wk), Stoinis, David, Green, Hardie, Connolly, Abbott, Zampa.
England win the toss and bowl
Travis Head, who is deputising for the unwell Mitch Marsh, calls incorrectly and is invited to bat first by Phil Salt. He’s a brave man.
There was one silver lining for England in the first T20 international, a fine allround performance from Liam Livingstone. Here’s what he made of it all.
Preamble
And so to Cardiff, where England need to win to keep the T20 series against Australia alive. Not that this little slice bilateral goodness is about winning and losing; it’s about… well, whatever you want it to be.
For many the most interesting aspect is the inclusion of young players on both sides: Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Xavier Bartlett and maybe Cooper Connolly.
It’s also another chance to watch the astonishing Travis Head, whose riotous 23-ball 59 settled Wednesday’s game inside the first six overs. And even if it is diluted, it’s still England v Australia. There are and will always be worse ways to spend a Friday night.
