Australia vs. England: Preview and Prediction for Match 4 of Carlton Tri-Series
Australia welcome England to Hobart as they face off for the second time in the Carlton Tri-Series on Friday.
England will be hoping to avenge the three-wicket defeat they suffered on 16 January as they gear up for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in February. Meanwhile, Australia will be looking to continue their winning streak in one-day cricket to six matches.
If not for Eoin Morgan's heroics on his debut as ODI captain, England would have suffered a resounding humiliation at the hands of their arch-rivals in Match 1.
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Morgan hit 121 runs, but his team-mates could only scrape together 93 between them. The 28-year-old's efforts were outshone by David Warner, who hit 127 as Australia cruised to their bonus-point win with 10.1 overs to spare.
Both sides have played and beaten current world champions India since then.
England's crushing defeat of India was the perfect response to their near-disastrous opening match.
James Anderson and Steven Finn were in remarkable form as they bowled the Men in Blue out for 153—a nine-wicket mauling. Anderson returned an impressive 4-18, while Middlesex seamer Finn took 5-33, his best in one-day cricket.
There were positives all round for England, as Ian Bell and James Taylor continued their impressive batting form, and both went unbeaten. Taylor managed 56—his third 50 in six matches—while Bell racked up 88, taking him within a century of Paul Collingwood's ODI record of 5,092.
Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler made five claims, just one short of the record he shares with Matt Prior and Alec Stewart.
The win was only England's fourth in 16 against India. Such an impressive result coupled with a dominant performance will serve as a huge morale boost for Morgan and co.
This could have a strong impact on England's confidence, something they've been in desperate need of in recent times. The defeat to Australia was England's 17th in 25 ODIs and this poor record saw Alastair Cook dismissed as captain in December.
The win can restore some belief into the squad and England will likely produce a much better performance against Australia this time around.
Morgan certainly seems pleased. Per BBC Sport, he said: "It makes us quietly confident and boosts our underdog status. Bouncing back in the way they did is exactly what we want. It's a testament to their character."
Former England star Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff told BBC Radio 5 Live's Test Match Special that he believes the team to be "on the verge of something special" in one-day cricket.
If they can replicate their performance against India, they'll be a match for anyone, including Australia.
Unfortunately for England, Australia won their match against India too, albeit not quite as comfortably.
Aaron Finch hit 96 as his team overcame a spirited performance from Rohit Sharma, whose 138 helped his side to 267 runs.
Left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc is in great form, so Friday's clash is set to be a battle of the bowlers as he looks to outdo the equally in-form Finn and Anderson.
Starc managed an impressive 4-42 against England and followed that up with an even better 6-43. His six wickets earned him a second consecutive man-of-the-match award, and was the second best ODI figure ever at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
With England back on the up and Australia as solid as ever, Match 4 is set to be a much closer affair than the previous encounter.
Working in England's favour is that Australia, already assured a place in the final in Perth, are set to rest Warner, according to the Australian Associated Press (via Cricket.com.au).
Pride will always motivate Australia to beat England, but this could see them ease up on their archrivals, if only a little.
With England's confidence restored and with the desire to avenge their defeat and make the final, a narrow win is on the cards.
Australia rarely make things easy, but England's improved batting and bowling will give them a surprise victory.
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