Australia v England: seventh ODI preview

Andrew Strauss

The wisdom of sandwiching a seven-match ODI series between Australia and England between the Ashes and the World Cup can rightly be questioned, but here we are at the finish line.

Australia arrive in Perth with a 5-1 lead over the old enemy – some small consolation for losing their Ashes loss – but their selection decisions indicate the hosts have more important things on their minds than grinding a wounded opponent further into the ground.

Skipper Michael Clarke and Shane Watson both get a well-deserved chance to put their feet up for this one after playing pivotal roles for their side at various stages throughout the series, leaving the hosts a little light on for batting, with Michael Hussey, Shaun Marsh and all-rounder Steve Smith all falling by the wayside with injury throughout the series, and Ricky Ponting missing it all together after undergoing finger surgery.

England though barely have a bowling attack at this point - with Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, Ajmal Shahzad, Chris Tremlett and part-timer Paul Collingwood all flying home early due to injury and Stuart Broad unlikely to be fast-tracked back to the playing XI for this dead rubber – so the fact the Aussies are fielding a second string batting line-up might just even up the contest a little.

What Australia do have, however, is the man who proved their lethal weapon in the Perth Ashes Test in sling bowler Mitchell Johnson. If the enigmatic paceman can get the ball swinging at the Waca again – and that’s no certainty – then any hopes England harbour of batting their way to a win may soon fall by the wayside.

“I think we've still got a well-balanced one-day side going into this last game," Johnson told reporters, while admitting he thought a seven-match series was “a touch too long”.

Regardless, the left-armer said the Aussies were "taking a lot of confidence into it [the final match], and also the World Cup. We are still the number one one-day side in the world and hopefully we can win this series 6-1.”

With England blowing what was perhaps their best chance to grab a second win for the series after failing to defend a 333-run total in Sydney, Johnson and his teammates should see their hopes become reality in Perth.

Kim Coverdale

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