England vs Australia 2020: Visitors Sweat Over Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc Fitness Ahead of 2nd ODI

After winning the first ODI against England at Manchester, Australia now have a problem on hand as star players Mitchell Starc and Steve Smith might miss the second game on Sunday, when they could potentially wrap up the series.

Smith had to miss the first ODI after taking a knock on the head during a net session and will be assessed again on Saturday before a decision is taken. Given the incidents from the Ashes last year, Australia is surely going to be very careful with Smith.

Skipper Aaron Finch said the Australians had taken all precautions with the former captain.

"He got a knock on the head yesterday in practice. It's a precautionary measure to leave him out," Finch had said.

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Smith was replaced by the hard-hitting Marcus Stoinis at No.3 and he responded with a robust 43 off 34 deliveries in his first one-day international since last year's failed World Cup.

Meanwhile, Starc, who completed his full quota of overs (0-47), appeared concerned by a groin issue, having slipped in the field. Should the Australians opt to rest him, Kane Richardson, who was 12th man on Friday, appears the logical replacement.

The left-armer remains Australia's chief strike weapon with the white ball but, as with Smith, will likely be managed extremely carefully ahead of the massive home summer that looms for the hosts.

After his dominant World Cup campaign in 2019 in which he was the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 27, Starc has experienced the leanest calendar year of his ODI career in 2020, taking seven wickets in seven matches at an average of 65.33 and strike-rate of 65.5, well below his remarkable career numbers of 22.48 and 26.4 respectively.