England this morning are aiming to win their second T20 World Cup title, a feat which would see them become the first team to be both ODI and T20 world champions at the same time. This could be the last dance for a number of the squad – including Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan and Adil Rashid – though Jos Buttler insists otherwise.
Head coach Matthew Molt is sweating on the fitness of both Mark Wood and Dawid Malan, though Chris Jordan and Phil Salt are ready to deputise at the Melbourne Cricket Ground if required against Pakistan’s pace attack, which has been the most formidable at the tournament.
England will know their best chance to make history is to keep star quarter of quicks Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Wasim and leg-spinner Shadab Khan quiet. Follow Standard Sport’s dedicated LIVE blog below, including expert insight and analysis from cricket correspondent Malik Ouzia.
Live updates
Here’s Jos Buttler speaking at the toss…
“There is a great energy around the stadium and we are looking forward to a great game.
“I think both teams come into this in red hot form and we look forward to a tough challenge. I think it looks a good wicket. Hopefully it stays that way. There is a bit of weather around which is why we chose to bowl first.
“We start fresh today. We bring confidence from the other day but it counts for nothing today.”
Pakistan also unchanged…
England XI: Hales, Buttler (c, wk), Salt, Stokes, Brook, Livingstone, Moeen, Curran, Woakes, Jordan, Rashid
Pakistan XI: Babar (c), Rizwan (wk), Haris, Masood, Ahmed, Shadab, Nawaz, Wasim, Afridi, Rauf, Naseem
England unchanged
No Mark Wood or Dawid Malan for England, so Chris Jordan and Phil Salt keep their places in the same team that faced India in the semi-final.
England win the toss!
Unsurprisingly, Jos Buttler decides to have a bowl. Team news to follow…
England fans were in a hefty minority in Adelaide for their semi-final against India and it looks likely to be the case in Melbourne again today – where, with 13 minutes until the toss, it is miraculously still dry.
Here’s Pakistan arriving a little earlier…
An hour to go…
Still no rain in Melbourne…
The toss will be very interesting. England had had more success batting first of late but historically have preferred chasing and did so brilliantly in the semi-final.
The weather might make that all irrelevant anyways – batting second, and therefore knowing the lay of the land, could be a significant advantage should rain shorten the game.
Pakistan chasing 1992 repeat
There are eerie parallels between the Pakistan side that memorably won the 1992 50-over World Cup and the campaign they have had here: early setbacks, three wins in a row to squeak into the knockout rounds and beating New Zealand in the semi-final to set up an MCG showdown against England.
Pakistan will have their fingers crossed history repeats itself as they defeated Graham Gooch’s England 30 years ago. Ramiz Raja, the Pakistan Cricket Board chair, opened the batting on that day and regaled the contemporary side about that famous 22-run win earlier this week in an effort to inspire them.