England v Australia first T20I: Close contest expected at Rose Bowl

England are the next hurdle for Australia on their tour of the UK, with the Baggy Greens having swept Scotland aside 3-0 in their T20I series in Edinburgh.

Three more 20-over internationals follow south of the border, before a five-match ODI series completes what is a jam-packed white-ball schedule for the Aussies in September.

And there is nothing to choose between the two sides as they prepare for the first T20I at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Thursday, with the head-to-head record level at 11 wins a piece and two no results.

Five previous clashes at the Rose Bowl have resulted in three wins for the hosts and two for Australia, so there really is little to choose between the two teams.

. What: England v Australia
. Where:  Rose Bowl, Southampton
. When: 03:30 (AEST), Thursday 12th September
. How to watch: Kayo, Foxtel
. Odds: England 2.00, Australia 1.80

Scotland victories lift Aussie morale

Head coach Andrew McDonald will have been pleased with a lot of what he saw in the clean sweep of Scotland, while the return of ace paceman Josh Hazlewood from a calf strain is most definitely a boost.

Hazlewood returns to bolster a seam attack which is much-changed due to injuries, with the likes of Sean Abbott and Riley Meredith hoping to push themselves forwards as options for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

That is not the position for Nathan Ellis, who has been ruled out of the whole tour due to a hamstring problem.

With the bat Australia will have good memories of Southampton, despite three relatively low-scoring matches at the venue in 2020, with Aaron Finch blasting 156 from a mere 63 balls back in August 2013.

This time around much focus will be on Jake Fraser-McGurk, who is the first batter to be offered the opportunity to replace the now retired David Warner.

Fraser-McGurk has made his name with some big-hitting exploits in both the Big Bash and the IPL, but he struggled in Scotland, being dismissed twice for a duck and making just 16 in the second match of three.

Therefore, he will be eager to make amends against England, especially with him having also been named in the ODI squad, which will be augmented by experienced batters Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith.

Right-hander Fraser-McGurk is priced at 5.50 to be top team batter on Thursday, while he is available at 8.00 to hit the most match sixes and 2.37 to outperform his fellow opener Travis Head.

Buttler absence leaves Salt in charge

Regular England white-ball skipper Jos Buttler misses this T20I series as he continues his recovery from a calf injury, with fellow opener Phil Salt taking on the captaincy and shouldering added responsibility at the top of the order.

Salt has emerged as a major force on the 20-over international front, with his career record reading 885 runs from 29 innings at an average of 35.40 and a strike-rate of 165.11.

The 28-year-old right-hander has failed to reach double figures in just one of his last 12 T20I innings, while in December last year he made back-to-back centuries in the West Indies.

He is 4.00 to be top team batter on Thursday, while he is 1.83 to score over 32.5 runs in the match.

The Three Lions have added several new faces in the shape of Jacob Bethell, Dan Mousley, John Turner and Josh Hull, with Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan having all been overlooked and Harry Brook, Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith among those rested following the Sri Lanka Test series.

Jofra Archer is sure to attract plenty of attention as he continues to rebuild his international career following a series of injury setbacks.

The right-arm quick made it through the T20 World Cup unscathed and has since featured in both The Hundred and the T20 Blast.

Archer is 4.33 to be team top bowler on Thursday and 11.00 to be named as player of the match.