ENG vs AUS: 3rd ODI, Review - Australia handed series drubbing by hostile Englishmen

More than the series, Tim Paine, Australia, their respect and reputation as a cricketing nation are in line. They needed someone to put their hands up and stage a turnaround a couple of defeats at London and Cardiff respectively. England were on a rampage and it would’ve needed something herculean to halt them, which the Yellow Army couldn’t and lost by 242 runs.

The match turned out to be one-sided and Eoin Morgan’s men piled on their biggest victory in ODIs by a margin of runs and also took an unassailable lead of 3-0. Records turned upside down in the encounter as the hosts put on a colossal 481 and amassed the highest score in the history of the format. The Aussies began in a promising manner with the willow but lost their way amidst a flurry of wickets.

Bairstow and Co pummel visitors

Tim Paine won the toss and elected to field first on a track which looked decent for batting. The decision backfired on them as the hosts racked up 79 runs in the mandatory power-play. Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow opened the batting and didn’t die wondering. Billy Stanlake and Jhye Richardson took the responsibility of the new ball and were taken to the cleaners by the duo.

They didn’t stop even after the field restrictions. They kept peppering the boundaries and piling on the visitor’s agony. They notched a partnership of 159 runs in 19.3 overs and laid the platform for a monstrous score. The stand was eventually broken in an ungainly manner with Roy’s run out. The right-hander went for the second run only to find himself short. He scored 82 runs from 61 balls.

However, Bairstow carried on his own merry way and compiled his fourth century in his last six innings. He accomplished the feat in a mere 69 balls to take the sting out of the Men in Yellow’s bowling attack. His partner Alex Hales, after a couple of lacklustre scores, found his form. His second-wicket stand of 151 runs with Bairstow took Eoin Morgan’s men over the 300-run mark.

Ashton Agar gave Paine’s men a much-needed breakthrough when Bairstow holed out to midwicket and was dismissed for 139 runs with 15 fours and 5 sixes to his name. Meanwhile, Hales also brought up his sixth century in double quick time. Buttler missed out and succumbed to Richardson’s slower delivery. Skipper Morgan joined Hales for the fourth wicket and took the bowling by the scruff of the neck.

He trod the attacking route and raced away to the fastest fifty by an English batsman in ODIs in 21 balls. The left-handed batter ended up scoring 67 runs from 30 balls and en route the knock, he managed to become the nation’s leading run-getter in the 50-over format, surpassing Ian Bell. The home team lost a bit of momentum in the end and eventually posted 481 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.

Disappointing show from the Yellow Army

The run-chase was always going to be an uphill task for Paine’s troops and their task was clear and concise from the word go. D’Arcy Short and Travis Head commenced proceedings for them and smacked a few boundaries to kick-start the innings. However, David Willey struck first blood and got rid of Short in the fourth over. Head and Marsh put their head down and put on 68 runs for the second wicket.

Marsh wasn’t quite at his fluent best and strained to find rhythm in his batting. Meanwhile. Head piled on a breezy half-century to keep his team on the game, but unfortunately became Moeen Ali’s first victim in the 13th over. To Australia’s agony, Moeen got rid of Marsh in his next over to leave the Aussies in utter disarray. The onus was then on Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis to resurrect the stutter.

They put on 52 for the third wicket and just when it was thought that the duo was getting their team back into the hunt, Adil Rashid disturbed Finch’s timber. Stoinis was the next man to perish courtesy of a horrendous mix-up with Glenn Maxwell that led to his run-out. Justin Langer’s, the head coach, reaction from the balcony summed up the side’s performance.

Paine couldn’t make any impact either. He tried to heave Rashid over square leg only to find the bucket-like hands of Alex Hales. Maxwell couldn’t get going and following his dismissal, it was all over bar the shouting. Ashton Agar found the boundaries for a few times, but it was never going to be enough to challenge the mammoth target. The spinners dictated terms once again with 7 wickets between them.

Brief Scores

England: 481/6 in 50 overs; (Alex Hales 147, Johnny Bairstow 139; Jhy Richardson 3/92, Ashton Agar 1/70)

Australia: 239 all out in 37 overs; (Travis Head 51, Marcus Stoinis 44, Adil Rashid 4/47, Moeen Ali 3/28)

England beat Australia by 242 runs

Player of the Match: Alex Hales