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Stand-in captain Harry Brook has confirmed that England pacer Jofra Archer will feature in the opening game of the upcoming ODIs against Australia. The five-match series against the world champions will commence on Thursday, September 19, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
The 29-year-old fiery speedster, who has so far made 21 ODI appearances for the Three Lions, last played a 50-over game in March 2023 against Bangladesh at Chattogram. Archer has 42 ODI wickets to his name with his best figures being 6/40. He was recently seen in action during the first T20I against Australia in Southampton last week, where he picked up two wickets.
England and Australia share the honours as rain plays spoilsport in the series decider
Australia won the series opener at the Rose Bowl to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. Mitchell Marsh's men managed 179 runs after being put into bat, in reply, England got bowled out for 151 runs in 19.2 overs, falling short of the target by 28 runs.
Nevertheless, they bounced back from this defeat to claim a three-wicket victory in the second encounter, which was played at Cardiff's Sophia Gardens. With the series level at 1-1, the caravan headed to Manchester for an exciting finish. Unfortunately, the rain played spoilsport on Sunday, September 15, at the Emirates Old Trafford, forcing the teams to share the honours.
Meanwhile, ahead of the ODI series, England's stand-in skipper Harry Brook confirmed Jofra Archer's availability for the first match. Speaking to BBC Sport, Brook said:
"He's (Jofra Archer) obviously a world-beater, and it'll be nice to have him alongside me and going out there and taking them on. I haven't faced him much in the nets, I try and stay away from that. He's our strongest seamer and he's got a lot of experience behind him in white-ball as well. I'm looking forward to working with him and seeing him operate again."
After Wednesday's fixture, Headingley in Leeds, the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, London's iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, and the County Ground in Bristol will host the remaining games of the five-match series.
