Australia wins toss, sends England in to bat in 2nd T20

Australia skipper Aaron Finch won the toss Wednesday and sent England in to bat in the second Twenty20 cricket international as his team tries to level the three-match series ahead of the T20 World Cup later this month.

The defending T20 World Cup champion Australians made five changes to the lineup that lost the opening game by eight runs in Perth last Sunday and will be at close to full strength.

Pace bowlers Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are all returning along with spinner Adam Zampa and allrounder Glenn Maxwell in a complete overhaul of the bowling attack from Perth.

England made two changes with Chris Jordan and David Willey in for Mark Woods and Chris Woakes.

Alex Hales was the star of England’s win Perth, scoring 84 from 51 deliveries in a match that saw the return of Jos Buttler Ben Stokes.

The big talking point of the contest was Buttler’s decision not to appeal for an apparent obstruction in the field as an entertaining high-scoring contest neared its conclusion.

Confusion reigned as Australian wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade top-edged into his helmet before appearing to block Wood as he ran in toward attempting a return catch. England winning took the sting out of any controversy.

The umpires “asked if I wanted to appeal, but I thought we are here for a long time in Australia so it would be a risky one to go for so early in the trip,” Buttler later explained.

Australia: Aaron Finch (captain), David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.

England: Jos Buttler (captain), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley.