England vs Australia 1st ODI 2009: Preview and Live Score

After retaining the prestigious Ashes title from Australia, England is now looking to continue their winning run in the upcoming 7-match ODI series against Australia, starting from Friday (4 September 2009) at the Oval. Australia, on the other hand, is gearing up to get some pride back before going back home. Australian team has faced huge criticism from Australian media in the wake of their 2-1 loss in the recently concluded Ashes series. Naturally, the visiting side would be determined to display some strong performances in the ODI series in what would provide their fans with some occasions to cheer on. So, as a cricket fan, you can expect a highly-competitive series coming up next.

If you want to get the live score and updates of the first ODI between England and Australia then visit the following link: Cricinfo

Match: England vs Australia; 1st ODI 2009

Date: 4 September 2009

Venue: Kennington Oval, London, England

Kick off: 3:00 local (12:00 GMT)

Live TV: Sky Sports, Star Cricket

Both sides are missing some of their star cricketers. England would not get the service of top order batsman Kevin Pietersen and all rounder Andrew Flintoff, who retired from test cricket after England’s Ashes triumph. Both the players are recovering from their respective injuries. So, it is pretty much certain that there will be a void in the English batting line up, even though the home side includes some talented young batsmen like Joe Denly.

Australian side is missing their regular captain Ricky Ponting as he has been rested, but he might be back towards the end of the series. So, his deputy Michael Clarke would lead the visitors in the ODI series. Another notable absence is wicketkeeper batsman Brad Haddin who has not got over his finger injury yet. His back up Graham Manou is also uncertain for the series as he is suffering from hand injury. So, Australian selectors called up Tim Paine to keep the wickets, and the Tasmanian wicketkeeper is expected to play the first game.

Australian coach Tim Nielsen would go on a break after the fourth ODI of the series, and his assistant would take over as acting coach until Nielsen joins the South Africa bound Australian squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2009.

New York Times reported:

"The Australian team has played back-to-back international cricket since September 2008 and looking at the busy schedule over the next 12 months, we believe it is the right time for Tim to take a break," CA general manager of cricket Michael Brown said in a statement.

"This will provide an excellent opportunity for Tim's assistant, Troy Cooley, to continue his professional development by stepping up as acting coach for the remainder of the tour."

So, it would be interesting to see how Australian team fares without their regular captain and coach. In fact, there some many who called for the sacking of Ponting and Nielsen from their assigned jobs following Australia’s defeat in the recently concluded Ashes series. Now, it seems that Australian would have to play without Ponting and Nielsen for a certain part of the ODI series. So, now let us see if Australian team do better without the duo.

England might have won the Ashes series, and thus, regained the title after 2 years, but it is pretty much certain that they did not face a very strong Australian squad, and some of the Australian stars were not at their best during the series. So, I do not think England has enough reasons to be overly happy with their Ashes series. In fact, captain Andrew Strauss said that England had a massive away series in South Africa and England’s ultimate goal was to become the no. 1 side in the world.

BBC reported:

"Our next challenge is a massive one, away in South Africa," said Strauss.

"But we can take confidence from this and the long-term goal is to be the number one side in the world."

The England opener added: "It is going to take a lot of graft to get there.

"We are not number one in the world, and we are far from it, we are honest enough to know that.

I totally agree with Strauss in this regard. England must perform consistently against the other top teams in the world. England has got a bunch of young cricketers, besides the experienced cricketers like Strauss, Collingwood. England’s recent ODI form is quite impressive as they defeated West Indies both at home and away in ODI series earlier this year. First, England defeated the hosts 3-2 in West Indies, and then English side clinched the ODI series at home against the same opponent.

It is true that England will be missing Pietersen and Flintoff, but their main headache seems to be in the opening slot; rather than the middle order which sometimes looks fragile against top bowling side. Out-of-form Ravi Bopara once again failed in the opening slot in the recent one-off ODI match against Ireland, which England won only by 3 runs. I think Brett Lee was very quick in the first Twenty20, and it seems that English batsmen might have to face some strong challenge from the veteran pacer. However, England can be optimistic about opener Joe Denly, who scored 67 in his debut match against Ireland.

So, I think, England would have to decide if they would play Bopara in the opening slot alongside Strauss in the first ODI. Denly could come in the first eleven and open their batting with Strauss. Moreover, England does not have a very strong middle order as they are missing Pietersen and Flintoff. Naturally, Collingwood and Prior have to take some extra responsibility. Luke Wright and Owais Shah are also there to deliver their best, but I am not yet convinced about their consistency.

Australian batting order could also look less strong than it appears normally in the absence of Ponting and Haddin. However, I think, Australian batting line up looks slightly stronger than England. Australian batting line up includes some hard-hitter batsmen like Watson, Warner, Clarke and Hussey who are proven performers. Adam Voges was impressive against Scotland and wicketkeeper batsman Tim Paine can make considerable contribution in the lower middle order.

England has a clear advantage over Australia when it comes to spin department. England has a quality spinner in Graeme Swann and leg spinner Adil Rashid is also very talented. However, Rashid is unlikely to get a place in the first eleven unless England opts to play two spinners as they did against Ireland. On the other hand, Australian spin department has two spinners who are yet to flourish their potential fully. Off spinner Nathan Hauritz bowled very well against Scotland, but Cameron White could have been included in the final squad because of his ability to deliver with the bat in the lower order.

When it comes to pace attack, I do not think any side has any advantage over the opposition. However, having seen Brett Lee’s performance in the first Twenty20, I think, Australian pace attack could be a bit stronger than the pace attack of the hosts. England has some quality pacers like Stuart Broad, Sidebottom, Anderson and all rounder Collingwood. In addition to Brett Lee, Australia has the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Watson.

Online Live Score and Updates

You can get the live score and updates of the match in the following websites:

Cricinfo

Sify sports

thatscricket

stickiewicket.com

action8cricket

Overall, I think, Australia would have to deal with some extra pressure because of their ordinary performance in the Ashes series. They know that they are already under pressure and they now have to bring out success in order get out of huge pressure. Strauss and his side may not be under huge pressure, but they know that they have to deliver at higher level in order to live up to the expectation of the fans because their expectation level has been increased after the Ashes win.