England and Australia set for battle of ‘joint second favourites’
England captain Eoin Morgan is wary of going into their showdown against Australia with predetermined ideas about which bowlers to target as he braces himself for a stern examination of their T20 World Cup aspirations.
The old rivals will go headto-head tonight as the only sides in their Super 12s group to win both their opening fixtures, with Australia joining England on four points after a commanding seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka.
It came despite Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell conceding an eyewatering 51 runs from a combined four overs as they shared the fifth bowler's spot, a ploy teammate Pat Cummins hinted Australia will continue with in Dubai.
Fast bowlers Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, and leg-spinner Adam Zampa, present a formidable challenge for any batting side but Morgan is adamant England cannot place an emphasis on taking down Australia's all-rounders.
"It's probably going to be one of our most difficult games," said Morgan, who has long regarded India as the team to beat in this tournament. "Australia are a very strong side and have started well.
"Coming into the tournament, they would probably be considered joint second favourites, along with us. They're a side that we know pretty well, we've played against them a lot over a number of years.
"From what I watched, Sri Lanka played pretty hard against all of Australia's bowlers, I don't think it was a conscious effort to go after one or two.
"On any given day if you go in with a pre-emptive view on targeting somebody, it normally doesn't allow you to take in information during the game on how people are bowling in reality as opposed to just a pre-conceived idea."
Mark Wood is unlikely to return, with the express pace bowler sitting out the emphatic wins over the West Indies and Bangladesh after having an injection in his left ankle, while seamer Tom Curran has an ongoing knee injury.
When asked whether this weekend's match can have a psychological impact ahead of this winter's Ashes, Morgan replied "none whatsoever", reasoning there is a "day and night" shift currently between red and white-ball formats.
However, with less than six weeks to go before the first Ashes Test in Brisbane, Cummins said he was eager to get one up on England.
“We play England a lot, I think the style of play is quite similar, we like to take the game on,” said the paceman.
“They've been just about the form team in the last few years in white-ball cricket. It's a huge game, we know these guys really well, we know it's such a big game in the context of making those semifinals.
"I'd say they're probably one of four or five teams (who could win this tournament), it's a format where you feel like anyone on their day could beat anyone else. They're right up there in that top tier.
"I always enjoy coming up against England. There are a few players that will be coming out (to Australia) this summer from this side, so it will be great to get one on the board against them early."