CARDIFF: England lost captain Eoin Morgan shortly before the toss in the second one-day international against Australia in Cardiff on Saturday as the Middlesex batsman was ruled out with a back spasm.
Morgan's place in the side was taken by Sam Billings, with wicket-keeper Jos Buttler captaining the team as the 2019 World Cup hosts were forced into a late reshuffle after their three-wicket victory in the first of this five-match series at The Oval on Wednesday.
Australia captain and wicket-keeper Tim Paine won the toss and opted to field in overcast conditions that promised to assist swing bowlers.
Nevertheless, Buttler said at the toss: "We were going to bat. We've played a few games here where the wicket can get worse.
"The weather is set fair so we wanted to bat first and defend."
World champions Australia also made changes, with fast bowler Billy Stanlake ruled out with a left big toe injury.
Fellow quick Jhye Richardson, playing his second ODI, replaced Stanlake.
Meanwhile Australia opted to play an extra batsman in D'Arcy Short, who was making his ODI debut after appearing in five Twenty20 internationals, with medium-pacer Michael Neser left out.
"It looks overcast, hopefully there'll be a bit of swing so we can make some early inroads," explained Paine.
"Billy has got a cut on his toe so hopefully won't be out for too long but Jhye Richardson comes into the team and he's an exciting bowler too -- he's not as tall as Billy but probably just as quick."
Regular opener Aaron Finch was listed down the order, with Short set to open alongside Travis Head.
Teams:
England: Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (capt/wkt), Moeen Ali, David Willey, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Australia: Travis Head, D'Arcy Short, Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch, Tim Paine (capt/wkt), Ashton Agar, Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson, Jhye Richardson
Umpires: Marais Erasmus (RSA), Alex Wharf (ENG).
TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI).
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI).