England v Australia 1st ODI: Prediction, Tips and Odds

England take on Australia in the first of five ODIs between the Ashes rivals and Racing Post's James Milton gives his top tips for Thursday's clash in Nottingham.

James Milton's England v Australia 1st ODI betting tips and predictions

England to win - 11/8

There is an experimental look to the England and Australia squads for their five-match ODI series, which begins at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

England, under interim coach Marcus Trescothick, are missing injured captain Jos Buttler so Harry Brook will lead the side for the first time in his brief international career.

Australia are 50-over world champions, having upset India in last year's World Cup final in Ahmedabad, but they have rested skipper Pat Cummins and are missing a host of injured fast bowlers.

Senior players such as Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Marnus Labuschagne recently joined the squad after sitting out the 3-0 T20 series win in Scotland and the 1-1 draw with England.

Those comings and goings suggest the Aussies may need time to hit top gear and they look too short to win the series opener at Trent Bridge.

England claimed a memorable win in the sides' last ODI meeting in Nottingham, racking up a colossal total of 481-6 in June 2018 on their way to a 246-run rout of the Aussies.

Both teams' 50-over fortunes have changed significantly since then and England made a miserable defence of their World Cup title in India last year, losing six of their first seven games, including a 33-run defeat to Australia. But a batting unit featuring Brook, Phil Salt, Ben Duckett and new Test star Jamie Smith is capable of hurting Australia's depleted attack and 2019 World Cup heroes Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid can shine with the ball.

Ben Duckett - Top England batter - 10/3

England Test opener Ben Duckett enjoyed his scraps with Australia in last year's Ashes, scoring 98 and 83 at Lord's and signing off the series with quickfire knocks of 41 and 42 at The Oval.

Duckett cracked 86 off 79 balls against Sri Lanka in the final Test of this summer and also sparkled in The Hundred, scoring 269 runs in seven innings for Birmingham Phoenix and finishing second to James Vince in the batting chart.

The dynamic left-hander has inked his name onto England's Test teamsheet and he will hope to do the same in the ODI and T20 sides when Test coach Brendon McCullum takes charge in January.

Duckett is worth backing to top-score at his home ground, where he slammed 71 off 59 balls and 76 off 92 in July's Test match against the West Indies.

He scored 48 in a Nottingham ODI against Ireland last September and was unbeaten on 107 from just 78 deliveries in the following game in Bristol before rain ended the contest prematurely.

 Josh Inglis - Top Australia batter - 8/1

Australia's top-runscorer market is something of a puzzle given the number of all-rounders in their squad and the retirement of long-serving opener David Warner.

Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk are among the options to partner Travis Head at the top of the order although wicketkeeper Josh Inglis opened the batting in February's ODI series against the Windies, making 65, nine and 35 not out.

Inglis has batted in every position from number one to number seven during his 19 ODI innings but he clearly has the ability to prosper against the new ball.

He is in great form, scoring 27 not out, 103, 37 and 42 in four T20 innings against Scotland and England on this tour, and is worth chancing at a big price to lead the way for the tourists.  

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England v Australia 1st ODI odds

England - 11/8
Australia - 4/7

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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.