Australia and England are up against each other in the 3rd ODI of the 3-match series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne. The series is already won by Australia, and they are playing for a whitewash here. Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid are not playing this game for England.
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England opted to bowl in this match and their captain Jos Buttler is also back in the mix. He said that the atmosphere played a big part in this decision as there is a rain threat in the match, and the overcast conditions are also there. Olly Stone is also back in the eleven.
Australia have also welcomed their regular captain Pat Cummins, who has replaced Mitchell Starc in this match. Sean Abbott is also back in the mix. Cummins also agreed that he would have bowled first as well upon winning the toss.
Why Moeen Ali not playing today
England made a couple of changes to their playing eleven where Jos Buttler and Olly Stone replaced Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid. Jos Buttler rested in the last match, and Ali captained instead of him. The same rest policy is going on in this match as well, and there are no injury concerns reported for both Rashid or Ali.
The overcast conditions in Melbourne may have encouraged England to play an additional seamer on this track. England won the T20 World Cup on this ground only and this series started just 4 days after it. Both Rashid and Ali played every match of the T20 World Cup, and they did not play the 1st ODI as well.
Rashid played a key role in England’s T20 World Cup win, and he was brilliant in the final match as well. Ali has been an important part of the English setup as well. The arrival of Jos Buttler will definitely boost the batting lineup of the English team in this last ODI match.
UPDATE: Moeen Ali has been included into the Playing XI as a concussion substitute for opening batter Phil Salt.
