England take on Australia in the first ODI of the five-match series at Trent Bridge on Thursday, with Harry Brook set to lead the side in the absence of Jos Buttler.
Buttler was ruled out of the entire series with injury, and Brook has been selected to step up. With Brendon McCullum due to take over the white ball side in January, and Brook one of the players who have taken ‘Bazball’ and its attacking brand of cricket to heart, there will be eyes on his decisions.
Jofra Archer will play his first ODI for 18 months as England are still carefully managing his return after an injury-plagued last few years, and are easing him towards a Test return with half an eye on next winter’s trip to Australia.
Jamie Smith and Jacob Bethell are also poised for ODI debuts, while on the fast bowling front, Brydon Carse and John Turner have been afforded chances to lead the line.
Follow all the live action in the blog below
Harry Brook will captain the side in absence of Jos Buttler
Jofra Archer to play first ODI for 18 months
England won the toss and chose to bat
England XI: Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid
12:04 , Sonia Twigg
England have won the toss and will bat first against Australia.
The XI has also been announced (in batting order): Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid
Adam Zampa will be playing his 100th ODI for Australia, while the last five-match ODI series between the two sides was back in 2019, this feels like the start of a build up to the Champions Trophy, which England were lucky to qualify for after their dismal 2023 World Cup in India.
11:45 , Sonia Twigg
Here are some photos of the players warming up for the game:
11:30 , Sonia Twigg
“To be told I’m keeping wicket for England in a couple of formats now is nice. I found out just after the last Test finished at the Oval…Baz told me I was going to be keeping,” Smith said.
“Him taking charge of the white-ball side was a bit of a surprise, I wasn’t expecting it at all, but in the short period of time I have spent with him, he’s been fantastic.
“He’s sort of what I look to be as a cricketer, I guess: that nice attacking wicketkeeper-batsman.It gives you confidence to have someone there that’s had that sort of experience.
“You don’t tend to get too many wicketkeepers that are coaches and have an important role in the side, to help you along the way, so it’s great to have him.”
11:15 , Sonia Twigg
Jamie Smith is looking to Brendon McCullum for inspiration after being handpicked by England’s head coach as the team’s new one-day wicketkeeper.
McCullum fast-tracked Smith into the Test side at the start of the summer, skipping a generation as Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes were moved aside, and the results were striking enough for him to make the same decision again when it came to this month’s ODI series against Australia.
McCullum does not officially take charge of the white-ball setup until January, but there is no question that the charismatic Kiwi is already pulling the strings ahead of Thursday’s opener at Trent Bridge.
It was McCullum who pulled Smith to one side at the end of the recent Test series against Sri Lanka and informed him that he had been chosen ahead of T20 keeper Phil Salt to take over from Jos Buttler, who is currently injured but ready to step away from the stumps more permanently to refresh his captaincy.
McCullum made his name as a free-spirited, stroke-making keeper-batter in his own playing days and, if he sees a kindred spirit in Smith, then the feeling is mutual.
11:00 , Sonia Twigg
“We’re going to have the same principles or however we want to go about playing the game, trying to put that forward to the team already before Baz [Brendon McCullum] takes over.
“I haven’t spoken to him much, he’s kind of left it up to me and Tres, but me and Tres are both on the same page and a pretty similar page to Baz. Whatever you feel like doing, just do it.
“We want to go out there, be entertaining, entertain the crowd, take the game on, try to take wickets and put the pressure on their bowlers. In the field, try to influence the game as much as you can.”
Brook did not reveal England’s XI, confirming only he will bat at four and Jofra Archer will be unleashed in his first ODI since March 6 last year as part of his carefully managed comeback.
10:45 , Sonia Twigg
Harry Brook suspects England’s approach will “merge into one” when Brendon McCullum unifies the head coach roles.
With McCullum not combining Test and white-ball duties until January and Jos Buttler injured, Brook and Marcus Trescothick form a caretaker captain-head coach alliance for an ODI reboot against Australia.
Trescothick, though, is one of McCullum’s assistants with the Test team, with Brook an instrumental batter in a ‘Bazball’ revolution that has seen England win 19 from 29 matches under the New Zealander.
While Brook has been left to his own devices as he prepares to skipper England for the first time in Thursday’s first ODI at Trent Bridge, the Yorkshireman knows what is expected of him by McCullum.
“I think it’s all going to merge into one at some point,” Brook said. “It’s all going to be played fairly similar.
10:30 , Sonia Twigg
And now time for a look at the Australians:
09:56 , Sonia Twigg
Here are some photos of the players training yesterday ahead of the match:
09:48 , Sonia Twigg
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage from the first ODI between England and Australia at Trent Bridge.
Harry Brook will lead the side in the absence of Jos Buttler, while Jofra Archer is expected to play his first ODI for 18 months.
We will be bringing you all the updates and over-by-over coverage of the game.
