A tale of two spinners: Lessons from the T20 series

Australia are still looking for a middle-order finisher

It's arguably the toughest place to bat in a T20 batting order and Australia are still searching for the men to do the job.

Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith were all tried at No.5 or No.6 in the order during the series, with Marsh the only player to deliver a match-winning performance, his unbeaten 39 in game three securing the win.

One man who wasn't tried was captain Aaron Finch, who has had some success in the middle order in the past, both at international level and in the IPL. However, his opening partnership with David Warner is so destructive, it'd be a significant shift in thinking to bat the skipper down the order.

The experimentation will undoubtedly continue in the next 12 months as the Aussies seek a solution, but the crucial role remains well and truly up for grabs.

Ashton Agar is getting better and better

Over the past 12 months, Ashton Agar has transformed himself into one of the most bankable players in Australia's T20 side.

The No.3 ranked T20 bowler in the world, the Western Australian had another solid series with the ball, leading the Australian wicket takers with five from three games and while he was slightly expensive at times (7.83 runs an over), he was the only Australian bowler to bowl his full complement of four overs in each game.

There were some good signs with the bat, as well. Batting in the difficult No.7 spot, he scored 23 from 20 balls in game two and then made a composed 16 not out in game three, joining Mitchell Marsh in a crucial stand that iced the game.

"I feel like I'm slowly learning to figure that role out," he said during the series.

"Trying to play some better cricket shots, limit the amount of balls that I hit in the air at the start of the innings and then hopefully taking it as deep as I can and trying to finish things off a little bit better.

"It's a tough role and one I really need to improve on because it's really important. That back end of an innings, to get an extra 10-15 runs out of that position from a minimal amount of balls, that could be the difference in the game."

Alex Carey is not a guaranteed selection

It was an unusual series for the wicketkeeper-batsman; he batted at No.5 in game one, No.3 in game two and then was left out altogether for game three, with the indication from skipper Aaron Finch being that he had been omitted rather than rested.

It came after he lost the vice-captaincy of the side before the tour began, with Pat Cummins taking on the role as part of a more streamlined approach to the team's leadership.

Having smashed a fifty and a century in Australia's final two warm-up games, Carey managed just three runs in the series, beaten for pace by Mark Wood in the two games he played.

Australia's dominant top order means the left-hander has barely had a chance to prove himself with the bat in the past 12 months and he has faced just 50 deliveries in total from 11 games since last October.

With Matthew Wade and young gun Josh Philippe both attractive options as wicketkeeper-batsmen, Carey's future in the T20 side is clouded.

Adam Zampa bowled better than his figures suggest

There were some signs of rust from the Australian bowlers during the series, but they largely continued their impressive form from the past 12 months.

Kane Richardson was arguably the best of the seamers, conceding just seven runs an over during the series – and earned a spot in the top 10 of the ICC world rankings for it – while Pat Cummins was solid again, Josh Hazlewood impressed in his first T20 international in four years and Mitchell Starc responded very well to a slow start to the series, taking a total of 2-45 from eight overs in games two and three.

Finger spinners Ashton Agar and Glenn Maxwell kept things tight and made steady inroads and while Adam Zampa's series figures of 3-123 (an economy rate of 10.39) are unflattering, the raw numbers don't tell the full story.

Zampa's figures were blown out by his final over in each game; his last over in the three matches cost him a total of 0-52 (an economy rate of 18 an over) compared to 3-71 from the other nine overs he bowled in the series, an economy of 7.8.

This was because skipper Aaron Finch took a calculated gamble on bowling his leg-spinner late in the innings – normally the domain of pace bowlers – bringing him on to bowl the 18th, 19th, and 15th overs across the three games. By way of comparison, England's leg-spinner Adil Rashid was not used in the final five overs of Australia's innings at any stage during the series.

Australia's batsmen are prepared for a spin challenge

England's leg-spinner Adil Rashid is one of the best limited-overs bowlers in the world and he was one of the players of the series, taking six wickets at an economy rate of 6.25 runs an over.

His two pivotal wickets in the first game guided England to a shock win and he sparked another collapse in game three that sent a wobble through Australia's middle order.

After the third game, England's stand-in skipper Moeen Ali said, "As spinners, you always fancy bowling against Australia for sure in white-ball (cricket)", a fact not lost on the Australians.

"Every team in the world is targeted (by spinners), it's about being able to counter that," said allrounder Mitchell Marsh.

"For us it's just making sure we have our game plans (and) being really clear. It's just execution."

As Marsh points out, Australia batsmen aren't alone in this regard. Nine of the top 10 ranked bowlers in the world are spinners, and Australia's spinners (10 wickets from 28.5 overs) made more inroads than their pace-bowling teammates (seven wickets from 30 overs) during the series.

And with the next World Cup to be played in India next year, spin – and how to counter it – looms as one of the decisive factors in the tournament.

2020 Tour of England

Australia's T20 and ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

England T20I squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood. Reserves: Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood

England ODI squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood. Reserves: Joe Denly, Saqib Mahmood

First T20: England won by two runs

Second T20: England won by six wickets with seven balls to spare

Third T20: Australia won by five wickets with three balls to spare

September 11:1st ODI, Old Trafford, 10pm AEST

September 13:2nd ODI, Old Trafford, 10pm AEST

September 16:3rd ODI, Old Trafford, 10pm AEST