AUS vs ENG, 4th ODI, Review: Australia edge England by three wickets in a low-scoring encounter

Australia have finally managed to defeat England in the ongoing ODI series and salvage some pride after losing the first three matches. The game went very close in the end and the visitors had to be credited for that after the way they started their innings. Though it was all the way hosts from the word go in Adelaide as they kept a lid on England, something they weren’t able to do in the pevious matches. However, they would love now to end the series on a high with the T20I tri-series to follow also involving New Zealand.

Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bowl first under overcast conditions with an aim to pick quick wickets. But what transpired in the middle was hard to believe that even the Australian captain might have pinched himself twice. The new ball bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins bowled with venom and let the ball do all the talking. The visitors, strangely, kept on playing the shots and were reduced to 8/5 in the seventh over.

It was the worst ever start in One-Day Internationals for England as the likes of Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Joe Root all bagged ducks. The other top order player Alex Hales was dismissed on 3.

Woakes leads the way

Eoin Morgan and Moeen Ali resurrected the innings then but only to some extent as Cummins returned to end the vigil of the former. He made 33 off 61 deliveries leaving his team reeling at 61/6. Chris Woakes entered the scene then and played nicely to help get out of the rut. He first stitched a partnership off 51 runs with Ali. Then Tom Curran assisted him well as both added 60 runs in qucik time for the ninth wicket.

Meanwhile Woakes completed his half-century and was eventually dismissed on 78 off just 82 balls with four boundaries and 5 maximums. He was threatening to take the game away from Australia but was bluffed by a slower delivery from Andrew Tye. England were bundled out for 196 in the 45th over, the score which they would’ve taken after losing five wickets under 10 runs. Cummins was excellent for Australia with the magical figures of 4/24 as Hazlewood and Tye shared the remaining wickets.

Head wins it in the chase

Travis Head opened the innings alongside David Warner in the absence of the in-form Aaron Finch to begin the relatively easy chase as the conditions had eased out. But the batting woes of the latter continued with Woakes inducing an edge of his bat. Cameron White followed soon after after scoring only 3 runs as England fought back in the defence of a small score. Smith’s poor series with the bat continued as he was scalped by Adil Rashid for 4.

Amidst all the happening at the other end, Head played amazingly well and attacked from the word go. He batted without any fear which, in a way, helped Australia score runs quickly. he was supported nicely by Mitchell Marsh who played a cameo of 32 runs off just 30 balls. But the home side felt the butterflies in their stomach when Head lost his wicket with 17 runs needed to win. He agonisingly fell short of a well-deserved century by just 4 runs. He smashed 96 off 107 cherries with as many as 15 fours.

The match went even close when Cummins was run-out after a horrible mix-up with Tim Paine. But the wicker-keeper batsman made sure there were no further hiccups and finished the game in the same over. He played a useful hand of 25 runs. Cummins was awarded Man of the Match for his hostile bowling as Australia reduced the lead of England in the series by 3-1. The final ODI now will be played ath the new Stadium in Perth and the teams would love to sign off the series with a victory.

Brief Scores

England 196 after 44.5 overs (C Woakes 78; P Cummins 4/24)

Australia 197/7 after 37 overs (T Head 96; A Rashid 3/49)

Result: Australia won by 3 wickets

Man of the Match: Pat Cummins

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