CHESTER-LE-STREET, England, Sep 1 AAP – Stuart Broad believes England and Australia have set the scene for an explosive one-day series after honours were shared in the Twenty20 battle.
The hosts squared the two-game T20 series at 1-1 with a 29-run win at Chester-le-Street on Saturday after Australia won the opener in Southampton.
While fans were made to sit through some painfully slow sessions in the final Ashes test at The Oval, England’s T20 captain Broad said none would have been disappointed by the two high-scoring spectacles.
Audiences were treated to Aaron Finch’s world record 156 and Joe Root’s unbeaten 90 in the series opener while Alex Hales, Michael Lumb and David Warner also produced some fireworks in the second match.
While Broad is among a host of England’s Ashes stars to be rested from the five-match ODI series starting on Friday, he predicted more of the same and isn’t expecting another Ashes-like dominance from his side.
“I think it will be a close series,” Broad said.
“Both sides have got match winners, there’s no doubt about that.
“Australia have got a powerful batting line-up with Warner, (Shane) Watson, these sort of guys that can strike the ball incredibly well.
“I think it’ll be an exciting series to watch.
“There won’t be a supporter over the last two Twenty20 games that’s gone home disappointed having seen the amount of runs and the tightness of the games.”
Australian T20 captain George Bailey said his side could take plenty of positives into the one-day series, including the bowling performances of Fawad Ahmed and James Faulkner.
But he’s particularly excited by Australia’s destructive top order of Finch, Warner, Watson and Shaun Marsh.
“They’re a really strong four across all conditions,” Bailey said.
“I’m really happy with the balance of our batting line-up, it’s a good balance of left and right handers and guys who can hit a ball everywhere.
“It’s just a matter now of getting that together and playing some more consistent cricket.”
Both sides will play warm-up matches, with Australia travelling to Scotland and England to Ireland, ahead of the first game of the series in Leeds.
