Australia keen to start well against England

The T20I tri-series involving Australia, England and India kicked off in style, with India beating England by five wickets in a high-voltage clash at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Friday (January 31). For the majority of the second innings, England seemed to have their noses in front, but in the final six overs, Harmanpreet Kaur held her nerve and helped India emerge victorious. With not much time to recover from a tight loss, England head straight into their next match against Australia at the same venue on Saturday (February 1).

England will be a touch disappointed with their batting efforts in game one. Heather Knight (67) and Tammy Beaumont aside, none of the batters were able to adapt to the conditions and in the end, that proved costly. Danielle Wyatt (4), Amy Jones (1), Natalie Sciver (20) and Fran Wilson (7) were all dismissed trying to force the pace on a slightly slow wickets, adding additional pressure on Knight to attack as well as anchor the innings.

Knight and co. however, have an opportunity to right those wrongs in their second clash of the series when they take on the hosts. The rivals last met in an Ashes series with Australia beating England, 2-1, in the T20I-leg of the series. This series will be England's chance to bury those demons comprehensively.

On the other hand, the match will mark Australia's first outing as a group since their home series against Sri Lanka in September-October. Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry, both of whom got scores of substance against Cricket Australia XI recently, will be keen to carry their promising form, while the rest of the top order will want to make a mark as well.

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These two players aside, Tayla Vlaeminck has successfully recovered from a knee injury she sustained recently. Ashleigh Gadner, the hard-hitting allrounder who recently suffered a concussion during training, has also been declared fit and was seen bowling in the nets as well.

With as many as six allrounders available, Australia have options aplenty and it would be interesting to see what combination they settle on. As Matthew Mott mentioned, for the hosts, the tri-series is about more than just being able to give their entire squad a run - they want to win the entire thing, and that means they will always pick their best XI.

The clash involving the two best T20I teams in the world will no doubt be a high-octane one. While England will be eager to brush off their tough loss, Australia will want nothing more than to continue their recent dominant run over the old enemy.

Squads:

England: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones, Danielle Wyatt, Natalie Sciver, Katherine Brunt, Georgia Elwiss, Sophie Ecclestone, Freya Davies, Anya Shrubsole, Lauren Winfield, Sarah Glenn, Kate Cross, Mady Villiers, Fran Wilson.

Australia: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes, Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham.