The stage is set for the summer of cricket to start Down Under as Australia are set to resume playing white-ball cricket when they face their arch rivals and nemesis England. The two teams will face in 8 white-ball games over the length and breath of Australia. We start with the ODIs which has three matches and our main focus will be on that. Then we will have 5 T20Is between the two sides where youngsters, uncapped players will be given a chance. But with ODI World Cup less than a year away, the focus shall be primarily on the ODI games that is coming our way.
The first of three ODIs will be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday, 13th November 2026 from 9 AM IST onwards. Australia will be led by Mitchell Marsh yet again with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc rested due to workload management ahead of Test matches coming their way. While England led by Harry Brook has a more or less full strength squad with no Jos Buttler and now just broke the news that Jacob Bethell has been ruled out of the series as well. The stage is set for an interesting tussle between the teams.
Overview
The stage is set for the ODI series to get underway between Australia and England as the Optus Stadium in Perth welcomes the two teams for an exciting start to the series. The remaining ODIs will be held in Adelaide on November 15th and in Hobart on November 18th. All the 3 ODIs will be important for both teams keeping in mind the ODI World Cup in South Africa in less than a year. Australia will be led by Mitchell Marsh yet again as the trio of Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood are sitting out the white-ball leg to manage workload for Test matches.
The Aussies still boast of a decent squad and playing at home, they will be a force to reckon with. England are bringing their full strength side barring Jos Buttler out due to hamstring surgery and now Jacob Bethell who has been ruled out of the entire tour due to a setback in his recovery process. Efforts will be on to make him fit for the Test Series in South Africa in December. England will be led by Harry Brook as expected.
Both teams are coming into this series on the back of indifferent showings in ODIs. Australia went to Zimbabwe and blanked them 3-0. But they were given a brutal reality check when they lost to South Africa 2-1 with the middle order crumbling against quality spin in the middle phase of the game. The Aussies lost the first two games before managing a consolation win in the last ODI when the Proteas had rested half their squad for the Test series. The Tests also did not go Australia’s way and then off the field stuff is dominating news which must be put to the side now.
Travis Head is playing the ODIs and is set to partner captain Mitchell Marsh at the top of the order. Josh Inglis and Alex Carey both are part of the squad, but it seems only one will play and don the gloves as well. There is Cameron Green who can only bat and not bowl at the moment. Matthew Renshaw has been a revelation across formats lately. Cooper Connolly can make handy contributions with the bat and ball. There is Oliver Peake who is a great basher down the order.
Jack Edwards aims to play the role of all-rounder and step up for the team while there is Liam Scott as an additional all-rounder. Apart from the famed trio that is missing, Australia will miss the services of Nathan Ellis who is also in the injury list. The pace bowling line-up consists of Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson, and Mahil Beardman as they will act as pure pacers. Adam Zampa, the veteran leg-spinner will handle the spin bowling duties. Australia are playing at home and will fancy their chances to let on the field stuff dominate the off-field issues.
As far as England goes, they will be led by the ever-impressive Harry Brook. England had a great home summer, but were given a brutal reality check in Pakistan in the Tri-nation series involving Sri Lanka as well. England lost 3 of their 4 games and crashed out of the finals. Their bowling came a cropper and that led to their undoing. They made 429 in one of the games against Sri Lanka with Brook scoring a double ton, but still managed to lose the game in the final over. They lost to Pakistan after having them 9 down with 70-80 still remaining to get, but Shadab Khan denied them the win.
The Englishmen will look to get things right and have brought a strong squad barring a few injuries. Yes, there is no Jos Buttler due to hamstring surgery and no Jacob Bethell due to a setback in his recovery, but other than that everyone is picked for this ODI series before the youngsters take over for the T20Is. Tom Banton is part of the side and will open with Ben Duckett with Joe Root coming in at 3 and captain Harry Brook at 4. Jordan Cox will don the gloves it seems and will play at 5.
The all-rounder’s role will be played by Sam Curran while Will Jacks is an integral member of the side. Jamie Overton is a crucial player for the visitors. There is Liam Dawson the spin bowling all-rounder as well. James Coles is part of the squad as well. Then the specialist spinner is the veteran leg spinner Adil Rashid who did not get to play a single game in Pakistan. The pace bowling line-up will be led by Jofra Archer and he has Gus Atkinson, and Sonny Baker as his partner. Henry Crocombe and Eddie Jack are part of the squad as reserve pacers we can say.
England are searching for consistency, while Australia will search for a reversal of results from what happened in South Africa. The stage is set for an interesting tussle between the old enemy starting in Perth.
Head-To-HeadÂ
Australia and England have faced against each other in 162 matches in total. Australia have won 92 games while England have won 65 games. 2 matches ended in a tie while 3 ended in a No Result. In Australia, it is 48 wins to the home team and 25 to England with one no result in 74 games. In England it is 36 wins to Australia, 38 to England, while 2 matches ended in a Tie and the other two in No Results in 78 games. In Neutral venue, it is 8-2 in Australia’s favour. It is 8-2 to the Aussies in last 10 matches with the last meeting taking place in 2025 Champions Trophy.
Pitch & Weather Report
The pitch at the Optus Stadium offers extra bounce, pace and carry making it favourable for fast bowlers and explosive stroke play. There has been a total of 7 matches played here with side chasing winning 6 times. The average first innings score is 166 runs and the average second innings score is 165. The highest total scored here was 259 by England vs Australia while the lowest is 140 by Australia vs Pakistan.
The conditions are set to be sunny and clear skies with bright, warm sunshine. The temperature will hover around 24-26.1 degrees Celsius. The humidity is approximately 38-48%. There is 0% chance of rain, evening or night dew is unlikely to affect the match. There is fast afternoon sea breezes expected to assist swing bowlers early.
Predicted/Probable Playing XIs of both sidesÂ
Here, we will try and predict the playing XIs of both sides.
Australia XI: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis (wk), Matthew Renshaw, Cameron Green, Jack Edwards, Xavier Bartlett, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson, Mahli Beardman.
England XI: Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Tom Banton (wk), Sam Curran, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.
Key Players to watch out for in this clash
Mitchell Marsh: The captain of Australia Mitchell Marsh was in red hot form during the South Africa series as he gave explosive starts at the top of the order. He dominated the first power play as well. We can expect Marsh to lead from the front and give explosive starts alongside Head who has been in a bit of an indifferent form we can say. But Marsh is the key to this Australian line-up and playing at his home ground will definitely help him.
Xavier Bartlett: In the absence of Nathan Ellis apart from the three stalwarts, the onus of being a key bowler falls on Xavier Bartlett. Alongside Spencer Johnson, Bartlett if he gets the lines and lengths right could be a handful on this pitch. With the pitch generally aiding the seamers, we expect Bartlett to run in and try and trouble the English batters who will go after the bowling.
Harry Brook: The captain of England was in tremendous form in the tri-series in Pakistan as he scored a majestic double ton in Rawalpindi. Brook showed his prowess and explosive batting and would like to continue that in Australia in helpful conditions for the bowlers. He has been in better form than Root lately, and hence we have picked him to be a key batter.
Jofra Archer: The speedster of the English attacks returns after a breather refreshed for this 3-match ODI series. Archer did not play in the home series white-ball cricket against Sri Lanka nor the Tri-series in Pakistan as he was resting to manage his workload. But he is back and will lead the new ball attack. If Archer gets it right and gets early wickets, he can put the vulnerable Australian middle-order under serious pressure. He will be key in Perth.
Key Stats and Records to look out for in this clashÂ
- Australia is still searching for their first ever ODI victory against England at Optus Stadium, Perth.
- Teams batting first have won once compared to six times teams chasing in 7 games played here.
- The highest score here is 259 by England and the lowest one is 140 by Australia.
- England beat Australia by 12 runs in 2018 defending 259 in the only ODI between the two teams.
- Australia has won six of their past eight bilateral men’s ODIs vs England although Australia has won only two of their past eight bilateral ODI series overall.
- Joe Root has scored 680 runs at an average of 85 in Men’s ODIs in 2026.
- Ben Duckett has scored 737 runs in 2026 at an average of 62.90 across 10 matches against Australia.
- Mitchell Marsh averages 49.50 at this venue and holds a strong opening record.
Predicted/Possible Outcome of the Match
Both teams come into this series on the back of losing series. It’s tough to predict a winner between two evenly matched sides. Australia playing at home has an advantage but England has the wood over Australia on this Perth stadium. Overall record favours Australia and we too might give them the edge. But England will also come hard at them. Expect a roller coaster of a ride in this game and series. As things stand, neither team has an edge as such.
Let’s see how the opening ODI and series shapes up as a whole in the coming days or weeks.
Also Read:Â AUS vs ENG: England Announces Squad For ODIs & T20Is