Australia vs England 1st ODI Preview & Tips – England backed for opening ODI win over Australia

Australia and England renew hostilities this week in the One Day International game with renewed Sandpapergate allegations adding a little extra spice to what is already a feisty clash between nations.

Australia have won eight of their last 10 ODI’s against England, with the latter winning the other two meetings.

Australia get back to the cricket pitch for the first time since former-opener Usman Khawaja claimed that their entire team had knowledge of their scheme to tamper with the ball in their Test against South Africa back in 2018.

England, who do not need a reason to want to beat their biggest rivals, will see this as even more of an incentive to try to hit the ground running in this series.

For the Aussies, their foray into the 50 over game has not been great of late. A 2-1 series defeat to South Africa saw the Aussies get on the board after the series was over as a contest, while they almost lost to Zimbabwe in their final ODI as they squeezed to a one-wicket win.

With five defeats coming across their last 10, Australia have looked entirely beatable. The squad they will try to win this series with also looks a little light when it comes to runs and wickets. Mitchell Marsh, Cam Green, Travis Head and Alex Carey provide experience with the bat, but the Aussies are missing some big names with the ball.

England have not been great in the ODI game of late, but they arrive with some real experience and quality in their ranks. I predict that this will prove the difference in what may be a bad few weeks for the Aussies.

England arrived for their recent ODI tri-series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka on the back of a much-improved run in the 50 over game that had seen them win four of their previous five.

However, they slumped to a pair of defeats against Pakistan before losing to and beating Sri Lanka. In each match, England were in the game, but they gave their opponents ways back into each clash. Particularly frustrating was their first loss to Sri Lanka, which saw the English smash 429/4 before seeing Sri Lanka squeeze home in a famous two-wicket win.

They eventually bounced back with a 55-run win over Sri Lanka in their final group game, with Harry Brook’s men easily beating their opponent. Missing the likes of Jos Buttler due to injury is frustrating, but Tom Banton has helped to ease any run-scoring worries by notching scores of 10, 73, 126, 57, 50, 4 and 74 in 2026. Banton is my pick to go well with the bat for England as they storm into a 1-0 series lead.