England hope to avoid slip-up against Italy

England hope to avoid slip-up against Italy

England and Italy face off in Group C with their campaigns at different stages. England have moved up to second in the table after a win over Scotland, while Italy arrive encouraged by their breakthrough victory against Nepal. This contest offers England a chance to strengthen their position, and Italy another shot at testing themselves against established opposition.

England's tournament has been anything but smooth. They were pushed hard by Nepal, fell short against West Indies, before recovering with a composed chase against Scotland. The win offered signs of improvement, but areas remain to tighten, especially with the bat at the top of the order.

Italy have shown encouraging signs. After a heavy defeat in their opener, they responded by outplaying Nepal for their first World Cup win. The challenge now is translating that belief against a much stronger side.

When: Monday, February 16 at 3:00 PM Local Time
Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

What to expect: The two 3 PM games at this venue so far have produced contrasting results. Going by the trend, anything above 180 could prove a challenging target for the side batting second.

England: Harry Brook's side have played the same eleven for the last two games and are likely to stick to the same combination.
Probable XI: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid

Italy: Skipper Wayne Madsen, who dislocated his shoulder against Scotland, said he was optimistic of taking further part. Should he be fit, Marcus Campopiano could make way.
Probable XI: Anthony Mosca, Justin Mosca, JJ Smuts, Harry Manenti (c), Ben Manenti, Marcus Campopiano/Wayne Madsen, Grant Stewart, Gian Meade (wk), Jaspreet Singh, Crishan Kalugamage, Ali Hasan

Harry Brook, England captain, on the openers: "Unfortunately they haven't quite fired yet, but I don't think that's a bad thing. There's a long way to go in this tournament and if they get firing at the right time then we'll be in a really good place."

Harry Manenti, after the win against Nepal: "A win against Nepal doesn't change anything that we believe. We came into this game knowing that we can win, and we did that. It's great for our confidence, but it doesn't change where we're at."