England vs. Australia, 1st ODI: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

England and Australia kick off their ODI series with a day-night fixture at the Ageas Bowl on Thursday.

The game at Southampton, England, is the first of five 50-over contests in the space of 11 days between the two Ashes rivals.

Eoin Morgan's England side secured a victory in the one-off Twenty20 fixture on Monday, but the tourists are ranked as the best one-day team by the ICC, having lifted the Cricket World Cup earlier this year.

Date: Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015

Time: 2 p.m. (local), 9 a.m. (EST)

Venue: The Ageas Bowl, Southampton, England

Live Stream and TV Info: Sky Sports (UK), Nine Network (Australia), SKY Sport (New Zealand), SuperSport (South Africa), STAR Sport (India), NowTV (UK Streaming Service)

Weather: According to BBC Weather, Thursday will be bright but breezy down on the south coast. There is a chance of some scattered showers, but it should stay dry long enough to get a game in.

Overview

The ODI matches may be tagged on at the end of the Ashes, but that doesn't mean they are an afterthought following the main event.

Having been named as England's new director of cricket, Andrew Strauss made clear at his first press conference that the one-day team was an area of priority, per Sky Sports, "My job is to provide a medium and a long-term plan to take England from where we are to a sustainable world-class team in all formats.”

The early signs are promising. Under the leadership of stand-in coach Paul Farbrace, England defeated New Zealand 3-2 earlier in the summer.

Having beaten the side that were runners up in this year's World Cup final, now they go up against the reigning champions.

England's recent record against their oldest rivals does not make for pretty reading—Eoin Morgan has beaten them only once in the seven completed fixtures during his time in charge, while Australia have won more games (27) than they've lost (26) on English soil. 

They thrashed England by 111 runs during the World Cup, though they will field a much-changed lineup in Southampton. For starters, Steve Smith is now captain in all formats.

Opening batsman Aaron Finch is ruled out through injury, wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has not been selected and Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood have returned home after the Ashes.

Stu Forster/Getty Images

James Faulkner was due to be involved, but the all-rounder was suspended by Cricket Australia following a drink-driving offence, per Kim Pilling of the Press Association (h/t the Mail).

With Finch sidelined, the tourists need to find a replacement at the top of the order. Shane Watson opened in the T20 game, but Joe Burns batted there in the one-dayer against Ireland on Aug. 27.

England also have a decision to make over who opens alongside Alex Hales. Jason Roy did the job against New Zealand but made just 98 runs in the series.

Moeen Ali was not picked to face the Black Caps, instead being allowed to remain in county cricket to work on his spin bowling ahead of the Ashes.

However, he has been recalled to the squad and was last used by England in 50-over action as an opening batsman, hitting a century in the role against Scotland at the World Cup.

The hosts could instead use Ali at three in the order, as they did in the T20 encounter in Cardiff, Wales. The player himself is happy to bat anywhere, per Andrew McGlashan of ESPN Cricinfo, "I love opening the batting but wherever the team wants me to bat, I will bat, and if that's three then so be it."  

James Taylor is another option to bat at the fall of the first wicket. Joe Root would normally bat there, but he has been rested for what looks set to be an intriguing series, weather permitting. 

The last ODI between England and Australia at the Ageas Bowl was in September 2013, with the latter winning by 49 runs to clinch a 2-1 series victory after two games had been lost to rain.

Key players

England

Hales has yet to fully translate his T20 success at the highest level into the 50-over arena.

After 15 ODI appearances, the Nottinghamshire batsman averages 25.35 with two half-centuries. It has been steady stuff but not quite what either he or England would have hoped for.

But Hales, who has scored over 1,000 first-class runs this summer, has been mentioned as a candidate to partner Alastair Cook in the Test XI. Big runs against Australia would only enhance his case for a first cap.

Australia

Pat Cummins was not selected during the Ashes, having been drafted into Australia's Test squad to replace the injured Ryan Harris.

Fitness issues have held back Cummins' career since he burst onto the international scene with six for 79 on his Test debut against South Africa in 2011.

However, the paceman bowled seriously quick in the T20 in Wales, regularly going beyond 90 miles per hour. The 22-year-old dismissed both Hales and Roy during an impressive four-over spell.

Squads

England

Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Australia

Steve Smith (captain), Ashton Agar, George Bailey, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), David Warner, Shane Watson