England hope to Bounce Back

And so England's nightmares in Australia continue. They were crushed in the Tests, decimated in the ODIs and the streak of defeats continued in the shortest format of the game despite late heroics from Ravi Bopara. England will now need to win the second game in Melbourne on Friday to keep the T20 series alive.


Australia: Cameron White replaced David Warner at the top and partnered Aaron Finch to launch a brutal assault on England's bowlers. White blasted 75 while Finch cracked 52 as Australia piled on a huge 213 off their 20 overs. England's late charge was neutralised by Nathan Coulter-Nile, who picked up 4/30, once again highlighting the gap between the two cricketing arch-rivals this summer.

Australia have recalled the experienced Brad Hodge after a gap of six years to further bolster their middle-order. The most successful T20 batsman in the world, Hodge last played for Australia in a T20 game against Zimbabwe on Fenruary 1, 2008.

Key Players: Finch and White will be dangerous at the top as will Glenn Maxwell, who missed out in the run fest in Hobart. Also watch out for the 39-year-old Hodge, who returns after six years.

England: Another shoddy performance. Yes, the scorecard at the end of the game said England came within 13 runs of their massive target but the truth is their chase had lost win much earlier, when they were reeling at 51/4 off 6.3 overs. Only a late assault by Ravi Bopara (65 not out off 27 balls) helped England finish with some semblance of respect.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground will be another challenge for the English bowlers, who will be desperate to stem the flow of runs from the Australian batsmen. England will also hope to get a good start at the top of the order for the likes of Bopara, Butler and Morgan to open up later on.

Key Players: Bopara will be a prized wicket for Australia, who will also be wary of Eoin Morgan and Jos Butler, two England batsmen, who were in very good form during the ODIs. Chris Broad had a good first game with the ball but the England captain will be eager to chip in with the bat as well.

Teams:

Australia (From): Cameron White, Aaron Finch, Brad Hodge, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey(c), Chris Lynn, Daniel Christian, Matthew Wade(w), Ben Cutting, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Muirhead, Mitchell Starc, Moises Henriques, Josh Hazlewood

England (From): Michael Lumb, Alex Hales, Luke Wright, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler(w), Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad(c), Jade Dernbach, James Tredwell, Chris Jordan, Boyd Rankin, Danny Briggs