Six things we learned from Aussie warm-ups

Australia has a T20 top-order logjam

Australia's batters have put up some big scores in the three T20 practice matches played in the UK, but all have come at the top of the order. There's never a better time to bat in a T20 than in the first few overs when the ball is hardest and the field is up, and with players rotated through the opening spots to make the most of that opportunity, the Australian squad will undoubtedly be better off for the hit. But whether they can replicate that when coming in down the order in an international against a formidable England side that's had several full internationals under their belt remains to be seen.

Marcus Stoinis stands to be the big loser here and, despite making substantial contributions, faces being left out in the cold, again.

Stoinis was incredible for the Melbourne Stars last summer as the KFC BBL's leading run-scorer, and he smashed four sixes and seven fours in his 37-ball 68 on Tuesday night, to go with an unbeaten 21 in a rain-affected first game.

On top of that, he hit a brutal 71-ball 87 with two sixes and 12 fours in the 50-over match as well as taking 4-31 from seven overs of seam.

Aaron Finch and David Warner will still open the batting for Australia and head coach Justin Langer made it clear he sees Stoinis as a top-order player, leaving him little room to move.

"He wont displace them (Finch and Warner), they're the best opening combination in world cricket," Langer said.

"In my opinion I think he's best up the top of the order.

"It gives him a bit more time (to get into his innings) and he's got incredible power.

"We all know he's an adaptable player and could play anywhere, but in my opinion he's best at the top and it's hard to break into that.

"Where his next opportunity comes, time will tell, but he's doing everything possible at the moment to be knocking hard on the door for selection."

Marnus Labuschagne (100 in 51 balls) and Alex Carey (107 in 60b) cashed in from batting order reshuffles on Tuesday night to post centuries in Australia's final T20 warm-up under lights, Labuschagne as an opener, and Carey at first-drop.

Highlighting the issue of run-scorers outside the top three, there was only one-half century across five completed innings – from Carey. The next best was Pat Cummins' 30, while Ashton Agar and Daniel Sams held the next best returns.

Labuschagne could be a three-format star

Incredibly, Labuschagne's top score in a recognised T20 game is just 28. He's scored 97 runs in his KFC BBL career with the Brisbane Heat, but bettered that total last night with his 108 opening in the third and final T20 intra-squad game.

Head coach Justin Langer described the innings as "absolutely sublime, it was brilliant to watch".

"What a young player, who could have ever guessed his acceleration in improvement," Langer said, reflecting on Labuschagne's rise from a fringe squad member selected as much for his part-time leg-spin as anything, to a bona fide superstar run-scoring machine now ranked in the top three Test batsmen in the world.

"It was classic to watch, he was hitting Pat Cummins, the world's best, over point for six. "

But that rapid rise isn't likely to see Langer punt on rushing Labuschagne into the Australian side to face England, at least not for the opening T20 anyway.

"We've had a pretty settled T20 side the past 12 months, all we can ask is guys bang on the door so hard," Langer added.

"He's done everything he possibly could.

Unless Langer and George Bailey, the two selectors in the UK, take a punt - which could happen in the back-end of this upcoming series against England - Labuschagne may find himself short of opportunities to prove himself in the T20 format, even with the next T20 World Cup not due until October 2021.

A fixture in the Test team, and pretty much a lock in the one-day side now too, Labsuchagne can expect to spend his summer in a biosecure bubble with the national squad. And while an amended international fixture is yet to be confirmed by Cricket Australia, the biosecurity and border control measures necessary during a global pandemic may curtail his chance to feature in this year's BBL.

That means he's unlikely to get an IPL deal with no track record to speak of, so his best chance to prove his wares as a three-format player may not come for another eight months, when he's due to spend another norther summer with Glamorgan and their head coach Matt Maynard, the man who unlocked the final piece of the puzzle for Labuschagne's batting.

Refreshed Maxwell is as destructive as ever

Glenn Maxwell hasn't played for Australia since last October, when he stepped away from the game for a mental health break, and then had elbow surgery. But it didn't take long for him to slot back into the side and show everyone why he's one of the most inventive and destructive batsmen in the limited-overs game. In what was his first knock of any substance since February's KFC BBL final, Maxwell smashed a century in Australia's sole 50-over warm-up match.

His 11 fours and two sixes in a 114-ball knock of 108 at No.4 saw his side – the Pat Cummins XI – chase down a target of 250 with more than eight overs to spare.

He started slow (understandably given the limited training he'd been able to do during Victoria's lockdown), scoring just 11 from his first 20 balls. He picked up the pace thereafter, and was basically run a ball by the time he got to fifty, and carried on to post the only century of the 50-over match.

His opportunities in the three T20 warm-ups were limited by rain and the fact he was behind century-makers Labuschagne and Carey in the batting order, but few make spectators sit up and watch as keenly as Maxwell.

Carey isn't ceding his position any time soon

The inclusion of young gun Josh Philippe in Australia's 21-man touring party raised the prospect of an unexpected national call-up for the Sydney Sixers wicketkeeper-batter. Philippe has got where he is by making the most of his opportunities, and his reputation as a big-game performer carries a lot of weight with Langer. Certainly, his performances since joining the Sixers make him one of the BBL's breakout stars – and have earned him a maiden IPL contract this summer where he'll play alongside Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Aaron Finch at Royal Challengers Bangalore. But Carey's class has risen with the presence of a second gloveman in the squad while Philippe failed to put up the numbers to make a serious push to unseat the incumbent gloveman in the XI.

The South Australian 'keeper showed his grit, and his impressive batting skills with a gutsy knock in the World Cup semi-final last winter, and while he has been unburdened of an official vice-captaincy role in the white-ball formats, Langer praised his leadership, skills and qualities as an "outstanding human" today, following on from his dynamic hundred from first drop on Tuesday night.

Race for third T20 quick is still on

Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are locks in Australia's T20 bowling unit, but the third quick to join them remains up for debate. Kane Richardson holds the fort as the incumbent but had mixed results. Strengthening the South Australian's case, there were ups and downs for his contenders too, with Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott, AJ Tye and the uncapped Daniel Sams and Riley Meredith all showing glimpses of their qualities.

Meredith didn't bowl for the final two T20 games on Tuesday night, a precautionary approach from the Australian coaching staff after he pulled up with general soreness. He could still be in the mix, and the 24-year-old is rapid enough to have put Steve Smith flat on his back in the 50-over intra-squad game.

In terms of raw numbers, Tye's 4-66 from eight overs and Sams' 5-75 from nine across the three T20 games are the best returns. Hazlewood, who earlier this week conceded he had ground to make up in this format, returned 2-109 from 10 overs across the three games, while Richardson's 10 overs yielded 4-90.

Langer described the England side as "dangerous" having watched their T20 series against Pakistan this week, underlining the unenviable task whoever lands the job will have in front of them.

Spin options aplenty with India on horizon

Spinners are almost always crucial in the T20 format, and this looks set to be the case in England with these three games at the same venue Australia has spent the past week training - the Rose Bowl in Southampton. England's entire international season has been played at just two venues due to biosecurity restrictions, so it will surprise nobody if the surfaces play a little low and slow after some heavy traffic.

With Adam Zampa, Ashton Agar and Nathan Lyon all putting up impressive performances during the intra-squad games, Australia can feel well placed here. Especially considering the next T20 World Cup will be played in India, albeit on surfaces that will undoubtedly be custom-made for high scoring.

Zampa showed off his rapidly improving wrong'un in the 50-over game, bowling Labuschagne and Philippe with a pair of googlies in quick succession – although Philippe later claimed he picked it, just made an error in second-guessing what shot to play to the ball.

Agar returned 5-80 from 10 overs across the three T20 games, including bowling David Warner first ball of the innings, while Zampa collected 4-74 from his total of 10 overs.

Lyon only got two opportunities to bowl due to the first game's rain interruption – and collected 4-29 in the one innings to underline he absolutely should not be underestimated in the shortest format.

Add in the part-time offerings from Glenn Maxwell, who said he's been putting extra emphasis on his bowling in a bid to become more a genuine allrounder and return to the role he played in the lead-up to the 2015 World Cup when he was essentially Australia's front-line spinner, and Marnus Labuschagne's leg-spin should he get a T20 cap, and Australia looks well placed to take the pace off.

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

September 4: 1st T20, Southampton, 3am AEST Sept 5

September 6: 2nd T20, Southampton, 11.15pm AEST

September 8: 3rd T20, Southampton, 3am AEST Sept 9

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

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

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