A question of confidence for visitors

Match facts

January 20, Brisbane

Start time 1320 local (0320 GMT)

Both India and England must restore confidence shaken by Mitchell Starc and Australia
© Getty Images

Big Picture

Having both been beaten with some comfort by Australia, England and India will seek to regroup at the Gabba, scene of a pair of heavy defeats for them in the past two Test matches at the same venue. Brisbane seldom holds happy memories for touring teams, but both visitors will on Tuesday find conditions conducive to aggressive cricket, with the pitch hard, the outfield fast the and the weather warm.

India have much the better record over England in recent times, their batting power overwhelming the more conservative English approach in encounters including the 2013 Champions Trophy final, which seemed to be going the way of the team then led by Alastair Cook until a late flurry of wickets at Edgbaston. But the variation in conditions between India, England and Australia is vast, meaning different shades of each player will be revealed to one another, just as the methodical ways of Cook and Andy Flower were found wanting down under last summer.

The greatest issue for England and India following their recent losses may well be confidence to attack. Eoin Morgan sounded particularly downcast following his opening defeat, while MS Dhoni's batting in Melbourne showed a level of anxiety his calm visage before the press could never reveal. Given that this tournament features only four pool games each, there is little time to pick up the sense of purpose after its early shake at Australian hands.

Form guide

England LLLWL (completed matches, most recent first)

India LWWWW

In the spotlight

After taking a catch late in Australia's chase on Friday, Ian Bell tossed the ball away with visible frustration. England would lose, and Bell had made a golden duck, albeit one shaded by the strong suspicion of an inside edge to Mitchell Starc's first ball of the match. On a Gabba pitch expected to offer useful pace to work with, Bell's correct method and ability to score off both front and back foot may be critical in allowing England to make enough runs to keep pace with India's blazing top order.

MS Dhoni has committed to batting No. 6 in this series and the World Cup beyond. He seems to be playing without his usual freedom, responsibility weighing heavily on the captain's mind and his choice of shots. Until Ravindra Jadeja is back fit, or Axar Patel shows himself to be a lower-order player of merit, Dhoni will need to strike a better balance between attack and defence than he showed in Melbourne.

Team news

James Anderson is set to return in place of Steven Finn after sitting out England's opener against Australia, while the tourists are set to retain faith in the batting order chosen for the SCG despite an awful start against Starc.

England (possible) 1 Ian Bell, 2 Moeen Ali, 3 James Taylor, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson

India may keep an unchanged side, given the fact that neither Ishant Sharma nor Jadeja are fully fit and Axar bowled tightly to Australia's middle order.

India (possible) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 R Ashwin, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Umesh Yadav

Pitch and conditions

The Gabba typically offers a fast but even tempered ODI strip, with the added promise of swing in the humid Brisbane air. The surface can occasionally also get a little more lively under lights.

Stats and trivia

• India have defeated England at home and away in their two most recent bilateral ODI series
  
• James Anderson will become the leading wicket-taker in ODI matches between England and India should he claim a trio of victims on Tuesday
  

Quotes

"He's got masses of experience, he's a big part of the dressing room, and can only strengthen our squad. He'll swing it. He's bowled at the death a lot, he's got a lot of skills, and in these conditions, on this wicket, he'll be hard to come up against."
Joe Root is happy to have James Anderson ready to play

"I am not sure about the statistics but I have felt that the openers have been doing a good job. They did well in the Champions Trophy. There will be the odd series here and there where when you are playing the best bowlers in the world in helpful conditions, we will lose the odd wicket. But overall I am quite happy with their performance."
MS Dhoni defends the out-of-form Shikhar Dhawan

Bailey suspended for slow over-rate

Australia's stand-in captain George Bailey has been suspended for Friday's ODI against England in Hobart as a result of Australia's poor over-rate in their win against India at the MCG on Sunday. Steven Smith is likely to make his ODI captaincy debut in Hobart, while the selectors will also be forced to show their hand on their preferred World Cup backup batsman with a replacement needed for Bailey.

Australia finished their 50 overs in the field at 6.16pm on Sunday, which was 26 minutes later than the scheduled innings finish time of 5.50pm. Bailey had been fined for another over-rate offence in an ODI against South Africa in November when he was also captain, and as such a suspension was inevitable when the match referee Andy Pycroft ruled Australia were short against India.

Bailey has been banned for one ODI and fined 20% of his match fee, while his players have been fined 10% of their match fees. Pycroft ruled that Australia was only one over short of its target "when time allowances were taken into consideration". Bailey pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the sanction, so no formal hearing was held.

Perversely, Bailey's suspension might be advantageous for Australia ahead of the World Cup, because the slate is effectively wiped clean on past offences and he does not have a future suspension hanging over his head any longer. Australia's coach Darren Lehmann said he told the players in no uncertain terms after Sunday's win that they had to improve their over-rates.

"You've got three and half hours and it took us three hours 56 I think last night," Lehmann said in Melbourne on Monday. "We bowled too many wides and we were too slow in between overs, and we've got to get better at that.

"I spoke to them quite firmly last night. We don't want that happening. We want to get through our overs and play an up-tempo game and make sure we're entertaining the people who come to watch, in the right time-frame."

Part of the problem for Australia was that spinner Xavier Doherty was dropped and Glenn Maxwell bowled only two overs, meaning 48 were bowled by fast bowlers. Although Bailey as captain is the only player to be suspended because of the issue, batsman David Warner said on Monday morning that all the players were to blame.

"If he ... gets banned for a game, the coach will be very, very unimpressed," Warner said. "Some of us dawdled between overs here and there ... We've got to be better than that. No way in the world should a guy who's captaining his country be suspended for a game. It's our fault."

The selectors are yet to officially declare who will captain Australia against England. However, Smith is the logical candidate after rising to the Test vice-captaincy during the series against India and leading Australia to a series win in the absence of the injured Michael Clarke. A replacement batsman for Bailey will also be needed for Friday's game.

Australia do not currently have a backup batsman in the squad, with allrounder Mitchell Marsh set to play club cricket for Western Suburbs in Sydney this weekend as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury. His brother Shaun could be a contender for a call-up, although Cameron White will also be in the mix after a strong Matador Cup campaign.

Whoever gets the call is almost certain to be the player on standby for the World Cup squad should Clarke be ruled out due to injury. Clarke had surgery on his injured hamstring after the first Test against India in December and has been named in the World Cup squad, but he has been given a deadline of Australia's second match against Bangladesh on February 21 to be fit to play.

"Michael is progressing well in his rehab and is currently running on a regular basis and has commenced batting," team physio Alex Kountouris said on Monday. "He was reviewed by the surgeon in Melbourne on Sunday who was very pleased with his progress. He remains on track for a return to play by 21 February, the date we spoke of when the squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup was announced."