England's tour of Australia began with a harrowing seven-wicket defeat in Perth and Harry Brook's men bid to bounce back in Sunday's second ODI.
England were blown away by debutant fast bowler Mahli Beardman, who took 6-24 on Friday as the tourists were bowled out for 131.
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh cracked 50 off 30 balls as the hosts cruised to a seven-wicket win and they are favourites to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in Adelaide.
The Aussies have rested senior pacemen Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for this series and England left out experienced leg-spinner Adil Rashid on Friday.
Jos Buttler, another ODI stalwart for England, is sidelined due to a hamstring injury.
Match Prediction
Australia to win @ 4/6
Australia were impressive winners of the first ODI in Perth, where fast bowlers Mahli Beardman, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett rocked England's top order.
The Aussies' bowling attack may be inexperienced but they have named their first-choice ODI batting unit of Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head, Cooper Connolly, Matt Renshaw, Josh Inglis and Cameron Green.
England beat the West Indies 3-0 in a home series in June 2025. Since then, though, they have lost 12 of their 20 ODIs including a couple of extraordinary defeats in last month's tri-series in Pakistan.
Sri Lanka chased down 430 to beat England in Rawalpindi before Pakistan's Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf shared a record stand of 89 to seal a one-wicket win in Lahore.
Best Bet
Travis Head to be Australia top batter @ 10/3
Pretty much everything went right for Australia in Friday's first ODI except for the fact that Travis Head was dismissed for a golden duck.
However, the opener has the perfect chance to hit back with a significant score at his home ground, the Adelaide Oval.
Head looked in good nick during the recent tour of South Africa, scoring 36, 84 and 24 in the ODIs before a gutsy 121 in the second Test in Gqeberha.
He has a fine ODI record in Adelaide, where he made 128 against Pakistan in 2018 and scored 96 and 69 in two games against England.
Head's two highest scores in 50-over internationals – 154 not out at Trent Bridge in 2024 and 152 in Melbourne in 2022 – were both made against England and he could punish their bowlers again on Sunday.
Player Tips
England's batsmen will want to forget the first ODI in which they slumped to 65-8 before some late resistance from Will Jacks (25) and Gus Atkinson (29 not out).
However, punters should give Ben Duckett another chance given his excellent ODI form and his record against Australia in this format.
The England opener scored 105 and 167 in his final two innings in October's tri-series in Pakistan and made 59 in this week's warm-up win over Western Australia.
Duckett was dismissed for nine on Friday but his first six ODI innings against the Aussies were 95, 32, eight, 63, 107 and 165 and he should be backed at 10/11 to reach 30.
England captain Harry Brook was caught behind off a searing delivery from Beardman in Perth but he is also worth a bet at 5/6 to make 30 or more runs. Brook slammed an unbeaten 136 from just 66 balls against Sri Lanka in January and thrashed 202 off 116 against the same opponents last month.
His breakthrough series in the 50-over format came against Australia in September 2024, when he scored 110 not out, 87 and 72 in the last three ODIs, and he should shine in Adelaide.
Youngster Beardman stole the show for Australia in the series opener but Xavier Bartlett also impressed with the new ball.
He dismissed England opener Tom Banton, conceding only 46 runs in 10 threatening overs, and can pick up two or more wickets at 10/11 on Sunday. Bartlett is highly rated by Australia's management and he has claimed 24 wickets in his first 13 ODIs.
He dismissed India's Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Washington Sundar in his only previous ODI at the Adelaide Oval, where he took seven wickets in Queensland's Sheffield Shield victory over South Australia last month.
Bet Builder
Ben Duckett 30+ runs
Harry Brook 30+ runs
Xavier Bartlett 2+ wickets
Pays 25/4
Read more cricket betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
