From the Trampoline to the Batting Strip: Adelaide Asks a Different Question of Two Young Attacks

This preview is written before the first ODI in Perth, so we cannot tell you the score in the three-match series. What we can tell you is that the second game asks a very different question. Perth Stadium is about bounce: the short ball, the pull, the edge that carries to the keeper at chest height. Adelaide Oval is usually about patience. The pitch is often one of the best in Australia to bat on, the square boundaries are short, and the straight ones are long.

That matters for both sides, because both are leaning on young bowlers. Whoever won in Perth, the side that loses the first game has to win here to keep the series alive, with the last ODI in Hobart on November 18. A day-night game at 2pm local time also means the second innings will be played under lights, with the ball sometimes doing a little more in the evening.

Australia have rested Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for the Test cricket ahead, and Nathan Ellis has a side strain. That leaves Adam Zampa as the most experienced bowler and Xavier Bartlett as the leader of the pace attack. Mahli Beardman, the 21-year-old from Western Australia, was confirmed by Mitchell Marsh for a debut on his home ground in Perth. He has said he wants to "keep trying to bowl fast", and he has been hitting the mid-140s this season.

Adelaide is a tougher place for a young quick than Perth. The bounce is truer and lower, so length matters more than pace. That may make Zampa even more important here, and it could also give Spencer Johnson's left-arm angle more of a role. The allrounders Jack Edwards and Liam Scott are the other pace options in the squad, and how much Cameron Green can bowl after his shoulder problem will shape the balance.

The batting is settled. Marsh and Travis Head open, with Cooper Connolly, Green, Josh Inglis, Matthew Renshaw, Ollie Peake and Alex Carey in the squad. Chief selector George Bailey called the squad "reasonably settled". A possible XI: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (wk), Matthew Renshaw, Jack Edwards, Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson, Adam Zampa, Mahli Beardman. Carey or Peake may come in if Australia want to change the balance after Perth.

England's news this week was bad for Jacob Bethell. He had a setback in training in Perth, a scan on his right knee confirmed it, and he flies home to see a specialist. He misses the whole ODI series and the five T20Is. Bethell was joint vice-captain with Will Jacks, who now carries more of that load alone. Josh Tongue has also gone home with a toe injury. Hampshire's Eddie Jack, who took 5 for 42 for the Lions against West Indies A last week, joins the ODI squad, and Sussex's left-arm spinning allrounder James Coles has been called up early.

The batting barely misses a beat. Tom Banton has 394 runs at 56.28 since moving up to open, and he now has the job alongside Ben Duckett with nobody waiting to take it. Joe Root was set to play his 200th ODI in Perth. Captain Harry Brook made 202 off 116 balls against Sri Lanka last month. On a good Adelaide pitch, this batting line-up looks built for a big total.

The bowling is led by Jofra Archer, with Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker and Jamie Overton. Adelaide may also make England think again about spin. Adil Rashid took 4 for 35 in the warm-up at the WACA, and on a ground with long straight boundaries he can buy wickets. A possible England XI: Tom Banton, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Sonny Baker, Adil Rashid. Liam Dawson could play as a second spinner if England expect the pitch to slow down under lights.

Adelaide Oval's drop-in pitches usually give good, even bounce and reward batters who get in. The short square boundaries make the cut and pull pay, and the long straight boundaries mean big hits down the ground have to be timed. Spinners who are brave enough to toss the ball up can get wickets from batters trying to clear the long boundary. In a day-night game, the ball can also swing a little more once the lights take over.

A first-innings total around 300 may be par if the pitch is as good as it usually is. Australia beat India here in October 2025 to take that series, so they know how to win on this ground. Whoever bats first will want to keep wickets in hand for the last ten overs, because that is where Adelaide totals tend to grow.