World Cup 2019, Match 24, England vs Afghanistan: Preview, weather report, head-to-head stats and predicted playing XI

Tournament hosts England will aim to extend their dominance against the winless Afghanistan in the 24th fixture of the ICC World Cup 2019 at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester.

England currently find themselves in the middle of the points table with three wins in four games, and a win against the Afghans will take them closer to the pole position in the tournament standings.

Their opponents on the other hand are yet to open their account in the 2019 event and are currently languishing at the bottom of the table with four defeats.

Match details

Date: 18 June 2019 (Tuesday)

Time: 10:30 AM (England) and 03:00 PM (IST)

Venue: Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester

Weather and pitch report

Manchester is expected to have a chilly day with sunny and cloudy phases alternating with each other. Rain is unlikely to affect the proceedings during the match hours.

The seamers will enjoy the deck with the new ball, and anything above 300 will be considered a par score for the team batting first.

Head-to-Head stats

The Afghans and British have gone head to head just once, during the World Cup 2015 group clash at Sydney, which the English secured comprehensively by nine wickets.

The England perspective

England will eye an easy win over the struggling Afghans.

Key Batsmen: Joe Root, Jos Buttler & Jason Roy

Both Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan suffered hamstring tears against Windies. While Morgan is expected to recover ahead of the clash, Roy has been ruled out for the next two fixtures.

Joe Root is among the top five run-getters of the tournament with 279 runs. In the absence of Roy, he along with Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow will play key roles against Afghanistan.

Key bowlers: Jofra Archer, Mark Wood & Chris Woakes

Jofra Archer (9 wickets) has been England's best bowler in the tournament so far. With the kind of form he is showing, one should expect him to rattle the Afghans early on.

Mark Wood (7 wickets), Ben Stokes (5 wickets) and Chris Woakes (4 wickets) are the others in this bowling line-up who could cause trouble to the Afghan batters.

Expected Playing XI

Eoin Morgan (C), Jos Buttler (W), James Vince / Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood.

The Afghanistan perspective

The Afghanistan players

Key batsmen: Najibullah Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai & Rahmat Shah

Najibullah Zadran is likely to make a comeback in this encounter after the failure of the batters last time out, while one among Noor Ali Zadran or Asghar Afghan might be asked to warm the bench.

Meanwhile, the key top order batsmen including Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmat Shah will be expected to make some quick strides and provide significant contributions on Tuesday.

Key bowlers: Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi & Aftab Alam

Aftab Alam (3 wickets), Rashid Khan (3 wickets) and Mohammad Nabi (4 wickets) are the best options for Afghanistan in terms of bowling. There will be a lot of responsibility on Rashid, who has not been able to deliver his best this season; he will be itching to make a mark against the English side.

Expected playing XI

Gulbadin Naib (C), Ikram Ali Khil (W), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan / Noor Ali Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Aftab Alam and Hamid Hassan.

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