ICC World Cup 2019: England v Afghanistan, Warm-up match preview

LONDON: England suffered defeat against Australia in their first warm-up match, but can they prove that it was nothing more than an aberration against an assured Afghanistan unit?

Match starts at 02:30pm

England, the world No. 1 side, suffered defeat in their first warm-up match against a resurgent Australia. So much has been said about the strength of this English side and their contention for their maiden World Cup title. But even before the tournament has begun, the signs have already emerged that when it comes to the World Cup, every team goes in with a chance of winning it and that nothing is a foregone conclusion.

It wasn’t a typical game in these conditions. Australia put up 297 – well below what has been par in ODIs in this part of the world recently – before going on to successfully defend it. While their failure to chase down a sub-300 total was an aberration on the part of England, they did have their share of positives to take from the match, such as James Vince, who replaced Alex Hales in their World Cup squad, continuing to show why he is an investment worth making.

Afghanistan began on the opposite note, picking up victory over Pakistan as they continue to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with in one-day cricket. The quality of Afghanistan’s competition against some of the world’s top-ranked Full Member sides in recent times has been unmissable. Their bowling strength came to the fore once again, with spinners Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan snaring five wickets between them. The batting was solid, with contributions from various corners.

They now face a huge step-up in competition, against the tournament hosts and favourites. Even so, this is a mouth-watering contest, pitting the might of England’s batting against the might of Afghanistan’s bowling. Which one will give?

Weather forecast

London is expected to be mostly cloudy on Monday. Chances of rain peak at 11am, so that is right around the start.