England Bat Against Australia In ODI Decider As Smith Misses Out Again

Manchester, United Kingdom, Sept 16 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Sep, 2020 ) :England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and batted in the third and deciding one-day international at Old Trafford on Wednesday as Australia's Steve Smith again missed out.

Star batsman Smith missed the first two ODIs after being hit on the head by a throw-down from a member of the tourists' coaching staff while batting in the nets last Thursday.

The visitors insisted he was being rested purely as a precaution despite passing two concussion tests.

But, having seen him bat in the nets again on Tuesday, they decided against playing him in the decider, with captain Aaron Finch saying at the toss Smith was a "little bit groggy" following his training session.

Australia fielded an unchanged side but world champions England made one alteration to their team, with fast bowler Mark Wood, fit following an ankle niggle, replacing left-arm paceman Sam Curran for a match being played on a fresh pitch.

This is England's final fixture of a home season overshadowed by the coronavirus.

If they win, it will mean they have not lost a series in any format across 18 matches this summer.

All those fixtures have been played behind closed doors, with England players holed up in bio-secure bubbles in Manchester and Southampton for the best part of three months.

Teams England: Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Jos Buttler (wkt), Sam Billings, Chris Woakes, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood Australia: Aaron Finch (capt), David Warner, Marcus Stoinis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wkt), Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa Umpires: Richard Illingworth (ENG), Alex Wharf (ENG) tv umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG) Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)jdg/iwd