The Stats Zone
May 26 2019, 14:05 · Rob Esteva

England vs Afghanistan – One-Day International Preview & Prediction

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AT A GLANCE

When is England vs Afghanistan taking place? Monday, 27th May, 10:30

Where England vs Afghanistan taking place? The Oval, London

What is the expected weather for England vs Afghanistan? 17-19c with sunshine and cloudy intervals but no rain forecast

What channel is England vs Afghanistan on? The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Cricket

Where can I stream England vs Afghanistan? England vs Afghanistan will be streamed live on Sky Go

Are tickets still available for England vs Afghanistan? https://tickets.cricketworldcup.com/ticketingInfo.html

LAST MEETING
England beat Afghanistan by 9 wickets

THE TEAM NEWS

ENGLAND

Captain: Jos Buttler

  • England’ status as favourites for the World Cup was handed a reality check on Saturday as they were beaten by Australia by 12 runs but it was the various injuries sustained that was more damaging than the actual defeat itself.
  • Mark Wood was the most serious of the injuries and his troublesome foot is real cause for concern but Jofra Archer and Liam Dawson also sustained injuries as the issues mount along with Morgan, Rashid and Woakes who all have ailments at present.
  • Joe Root was left out of the match against Australia due to a family bereavement but he is expected to return here to bolster the batting that looked a little light without both him and Morgan against the Aussies, and it will be a good test for them against the Afghans’ spin options.

AFGHANISTAN

Captain: Gulbadin Naib

  • Afghanistan picked up an outstanding win over Pakistan on Friday in their first warm-up match to give them a major boost in confidence ahead of the World Cup and this is another opportunity to prove they can compete at the highest level against the elite teams in the world.
  • There were plenty of positives for the Afghans in that opening match with their pace bowlers showing they can ably support the spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb and Nabi while the composed manner of the run chase from their middle order was particularly impressive.
  • Both openers Mohammad Shahzad and Hazratullah Zazai suffered mild strains and cramp in the run chase so there is an outside chance they may be held out where rather than risking them and Shahzad especially could be rested which could potentially weaken them slightly.

THE PREDICTION

This will be a fascinating encounter between the World Cup hosts and one of the underdogs coming into the World Cup in Afghanistan. There is a chance that both teams could be under strength as one or two key men could be rested with injury niggles affecting both camps but England have the greater depth to their squad to overcome that. They will have to take this match seriously as they cannot afford to lose this and see doubts creep into their play after failing in a run chase on Saturday against Australia. They should have too much quality for the Afghans but the likes of Rashid Khan and company could cause England one or two problems along the way.