Eoin Morgan set to return for England in third ODI against Australia on Tuesday
Alex Hales knows he needs "big runs" to keep England spot on long-term basis - watch third ODI on Sky Sports Cricket from 1.30pm
Tuesday 19 June 2018 13:52, UK
Eoin Morgan is expected to be fit to return as England aim to secure a series win in Tuesday's third ODI against Australia at Trent Bridge, live on Sky Sports.
Jos Buttler took over the captaincy duties for England's victory at Cardiff due to Morgan suffering back spasms in the build-up but the white-ball skipper took part in training on Monday and should slot back into the team at Sam Billings' expense.
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England do have a slight concern over Jonny Bairstow. The opener passed a late fitness test on his knee to take part in the second Test against Pakistan and had ice and significant strapping applied to the same knee after batting in Cardiff, and it remained strapped as the team trained at Trent Bridge.
Providing Bairstow is passed fit, Alex Hales is set to continue at No 3 after it was confirmed that Ben Stokes will miss the remainder of the series as he continues his recovery from a hamstring problem, while Chris Woakes is unlikely to feature before the one-day series against India in July, due to issues with his right quad and knee.
With Bairstow and Jason Roy performing well at the top of the order, Hales accepted that he faces a battle to reclaim his opening spot once Stokes returns.
"I've got to try and get my place back," he said. "I guess now I'm in that position where I'm on the fringes and any chance I can get, it's up to me to convert big runs and put some pressure on Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow.
"They have come in and done really well since the West Indies series last September. Jonny's been knocking the door down for a few years now and every time he got a chance, he took it.
"Looking at the way things are now, I'm the one who drops out once Stokes comes back. That's what happened when we went from Australia into the New Zealand series. But things can change quickly. It's up to me to use these three games well and try and score as many runs as possible.
"It's absolutely my aim to win back a place in the side ahead of the World Cup. But we have a very strong squad, with some seriously talented players who can't get in it.
"It's good healthy competition and it keeps everyone on their toes. It keeps everyone striving to improve, which is important."
Meanwhile, Australia come into the game as the world's sixth-best ODI side, according to the latest ICC rankings - their lowest position for 34 years.
Tim Paine's side have slipped below Pakistan after losing 13 of their last 15 one-day internationals, losing series to New Zealand, India and England in that time, and must win at least one of the remaining three games in the current series to reclaim fifth spot.
Vice-captain Aaron Finch admitted that the new ranking was a fair reflection of the team's recent performances but insisted that they remain confident of turning the series around.
"We haven't won any series for a while," he told reporters. "I think we've just been outplayed in the last little while as well. That's been disappointing.
"You can't argue with the win/loss ratio, the way we've gone recently. No doubt we've under-performed dramatically, I suppose, in the last 18 months in one-day cricket. There's no shying away from that - you can't hide (from it).
"We're still confident we can turn it round, this series. We know England are playing very well...but all it takes is a special spell from someone, or a great innings.
"There's some real positives, but you still can't deny the fact that we are No 6 - and that's just down to not winning enough games."
With Paine having been passed fit to play after receiving a facial injury at Cardiff, Australia could be boosted further by the return of Billy Stanlake, who missed the second ODI with a toe injury.
Watch the third England v Australia ODI, at Trent Bridge, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 1.30pm on Tuesday.
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