Northamptonshire vs Australia A, 2019: 1st Unofficial ODI: Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

Australia A team’s tour of England will kick start on Thursday when they face Northamptonshire in the first of the 5-match unofficial series. The visiting team will play five different County sides in this One-Day series. It will be followed by a 2-match unofficial Test series against Sussex and England Lions respectively. The Australia A squad for the One-Dayers features some big names that were left out of the World Cup.

Travis Head will be leading the Aussie side during this series. Josh Hazlewood, who couldn’t make the cut will be aiming to make a return to the limited-overs team. Mitchell Marsh, who joined the Australian squad as cover for Marcus Stoinis, returns to the ‘A’ side. Stoinis recovered and is fit to play the upcoming games in the tournament. Peter Handscomb, who made big runs in the ODIs against India and Pakistan, will be eager to get some runs after facing the axe.

Match Details:

The 1st game of the 5-match unofficial ODI series will be played between Northamptonshire and Australia A at the County Ground in Northampton.

The match starts at 1:00 PM local time (12:00 PM GMT) (5:30 PM IST).

Pitch Condition/Report:

The County Ground in Northampton is usually a decent venue for the One-Dayers as 250+ scores are a norm here. Every second game, a total of 300+ or even 350 is achieved in recent times. Since this game will be played under lights, anything about 290 can be chased down.

Average first innings score: 312 (Last 5 List A matches)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 3, Lost – 2

Probable Playing XIs:

Northamptonshire:

Richard Levi, Ricardo Vasconcelos (wk), Joshua Cobb, Alex Wakely (C), Adam Rossington, Rob Newton, Luke Procter, Rob Keogh, Nathan Buck, Ben Sanderson, Blessing Muzarabani.

(Note: Northamptonshire haven’t revealed their squad yet. This is expected XI based on their One-Day Cup team)

Australia A:

D’Arcy Short, Matthew Wade (wk), Travis Head (C), Peter Handscomb, Kurtis Patterson, Mitch Marsh, Ashton Agar, James Pattinson, Sean Abbott, Josh Hazlewood, Andrew Tye.

Bench – Will Pucovski, Michael Neser.

Team News:

(Will be added when there is an update)

Power Picks:

Sean Abbott was amongst wickets during the previous season in limited-overs cricket. He picked up 12 wickets across five innings in the JLT One-Day Cup 2018 that included two 5-wicket hauls. Abbott finished as the 2nd highest wicket-taker of the Big Bash League 2018/19. He claimed 22 wickets from 15 games also did a bit with the bat.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Peter Handscomb was brilliant with the bat in India series and would be looking to continue the same. Joshua Cobb produced a brilliant performance against touring Pakistan team last month. He is expected to continue to excel against a quality Australian team.

Other Captain/Vice-Captain Options (in order) – Mitch Marsh, Alex Wakley, Travis Head, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Sean Abbott, Adam Rossington, Matthew Wade.

Suggested Playing XI No.1 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Peter Handscomb (C), Matthew Wade

Batters – D’Arcy Short, Alex Wakely, Rob Newton

All-Rounders – Joshua Cobb (VC), Travis Head, Luke Procter

Bowlers – Sean Abbott, Nathan Buck, Josh Hazlewood

Suggested Playing XI No.2 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Peter Handscomb, Ricardo Vasconcelos

Batters – Kurtis Patterson, Alex Wakely (VC), Rob Keogh

All-Rounders – Joshua Cobb, Mitch Marsh (C), Travis Head

Bowlers – James Pattinson, Nathan Buck, Josh Hazlewood

Expert Advice:

Australia A batting order will be something to watch out for in this game. As many as four players who are with a chance of playing this game are comfortable walking out as openers. A couple of others are used to playing among the top four but given the team combination, they could be forced to bat at No.5.

Probable Winners:

Australia A might get going on their tour of England with a win against Northamptonshire.

*Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.