England can put ODI defeat behind them with victory in Hobart
Published:England head into the first Twenty20 international against Australia with renewed confidence following the addition of Luke Wright, Michael Lumb and Alex Hales to the squad, according to captain Stuart Broad.
The tourists have had a miserable time of it on their winter tour Down Under, winning just one match in both the Test and ODI series but in Wright, Lumb and Hales England have three of the Big Bash competition’s form players.
In Hales England have the number one T20 batsman in the world and although he hasn’t piled on the runs as he would have liked in Australia’s T20 comp, he has scored his runs quicker than any other player at a strike rate of 153.50.
Alongside him at the top of the order is his Notts team-mate Michael Lumb, who has passed 50 twice this winter for Sydney Sixers and if the pair fire, the 10/11 on England posting the highest score after six overs looks solid.
But it is Luke Wright who is attracting the interest of our news team with his electric displays for the Melbourne Stars.
The Sussex power-hitter, who is 4/1 to score a 50, has cleared the ropes with ease in the Australian T20 tournament, hitting the most boundaries of any player and with his bowling also a steady option for Broad, the 10/1 on him being named man of the match looks very tempting.
Australia have their own dangermen for Ashley Giles’ side to contend with though and England’s bowlers will not be forgetting Aaron Finch’s 156 of just 63 balls last summer in a hurry.
He holds the record for the highest international T20 innings for that knock at the Rose Bowl and cannot be ignored at odds of 5/2 to score a 50 for the hosts.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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