England vs Australia 1st T20 playing 11, Southampton weather forecast

The Southampton weather forecast has improved and there is 15 per cent chance of rainfall at the start of Eng vs Aus 1st T20 match

England would look to continue its strong show in limited over cricket, when Eoin Morgan-led side take on Australia in the first of the three-match T20 International series at The Ageas Bowl, Southampton on Friday (September 4). England is coming into the match with a defeat against Pakistan in a thriller. Australia, on the other hand, will play its first international cricket match after five months due to coronavirus pandemic.

Check Eng vs Aus 1st T20 live toss, match scores and weather updates here

The limited over series between Australia and England will be special because it is being played without spectators in accordance with Covid-19 restrictions. Playing in front of an empty stadium will not be new for the English, who have managed to fit in a full international cricket summer in all formats against the West Indies, Ireland and Pakistan despite the pandemic.
 
Australia is the latest nation to fly to England and stay in a bio- bubble, meaning its players have done no more than practice and spend time in a hotel since they arrived 11 days ago.
 
After a few intra-squad matches, Aussies are itching for the real competitive cricket, something they haven't had since mid-March when the scheduled ODI series against New Zealand was abandoned.
 
 
England vs Australia playing 11 prediction
 
Australia’s limited over captain Aaron Finch has hinted on the eve of the match that Marnus Labuschagne will have to wait for an T20 international debut. The Australian limited-over side is packed with stars, Captain himself and David Warner at the top followed by Steve Smith. "We're pretty settled with how we structure our T20 side at the moment," Finch said. "He played nicely the other day, but I think he might have to wait a little bit longer in T20 cricket,” he added.

Meanwhile the Australian middle order will be boasted by the power-hitters like Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey and Mitchell Marsh.
 

Australia tentative playing 11: David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa.

England, on the other hand, will be boasted by return of its experienced players in Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood. Ben Stokes is still not available due to personal reasons. Tom Banton has been a find for England and it would be interesting to see how he play against pace trio of Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc. The return of Archer will strengthen the England bowling department as it looked a bit inexperienced against recently concluded Pakistan series.
 

England tentative playing 11: Tom Banton, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer. 

Southampton weather forecast
 
According to weather.com forecast, the Southampton weather forecast has improved from yesterday and there is 15 per cent chance of rainfall at the start of ENG vs AUS 1st T20 match. With a chance of light rain at 8 pm local time that is 12:30 pm IST. 
 
 ENG vs AUS 1st T20 pitch report
 
Australian skipper Finch reckoned that Southampton wicket may have some pace which would allow batsmen to play their shots. The Ageas bowl wicket has been equally helpful for batsmen and bowlers in the past and we may not see a run feast like Manchester here.
 
England vs Australia match prediction
 
In ENG vs AUS 3rd T20, England would start favourites against Australia given Eoin Morgan side has played two limited over series while Australia is coming after 5-month break.
 
Here are the squads of both the teams:
 
England squad for T20Is: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
Reserves: Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood.
 
Australia squad for T20Is: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.