Australia Struck Down England In Controversial Match At Oval

Steven Smith, George Bailey and Mitchell Marsh hit half-centuries before Pat Cummins returns four-for to seal 64-run win

Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-match One-Day International series against England, winning the second ODI by 64 runs at Lord's on Saturday (September 5).

Eoin Morgan, the England captain, scored a fine 85 in chase of 310, but Australia, having been propelled by useful contributions from its middle-order batsmen, sealed its second consecutive victory after Pat Cummins returned 4 for 56 as England was bowled out for 245 in 42.3 overs in a match reduced to 49 overs per side.

Earlier, Steven Smith top scored with 70 for Australia, after it was sent in, putting on 99 for the second wicket with George Bailey. Then, Mitchell Marsh’s ballistic 31-ball 64 provided the fireworks at the death – 96 runs were scored in the last ten overs. Marsh, out off the last delivery of the innings having struck seven fours and three sixes, was later named Man of the Match.

England’s reply started steadily, with Jason Roy and Alex Hales playing themselves in. However, Nathan Coulter-Nile had Hales dismissed in the sixth over – Smith taking a spectacular catch at short cover – and kept chipping away thereafter, with Roy falling for 31 and James Taylor sent back for a 43 after a 51-run stand for the third wicket with Morgan.

Morgan then got together with Ben Stokes and attempted to rebuild the innings, but the partnership was broken when Stokes was adjudged to have obstructed the field for stopping Mitchell Starc’s throw at the stumps with his hands, after his straight drive went straight back to the bowler.

Thereafter, England struggled to put together a decisive partnership. It lost four wickets for 46 runs, with Cummins running though the middle and lower order.

Morgan and Liam Plunkett (24 in 12 balls) shared a ninth-wicket stand of 55 in 22 balls but it was too late to change the course of the match, with Morgan, on his Middlesex home ground, last man out when he holed out off Cummins.

The series continues in Manchester on Tuesday.

Source: ICC

England Looks For A Great Come Back Against Australia At Lord''s

Australia has started off strongly, but it will wants its middle order to get some runs in the second ODI

England might have been tipped as the favourite ahead of the five-match One-Day International series against Australia, but the visiting side provided a timely reminder of why it was the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup champion, winning the key moments in the first game in Southampton to grab a 1-0 lead. 

Now, it is up to England to redeem itself in the second ODI at Lord’s on Saturday (September 5), before Australia press its advantage further.

Riding on a new wave of ultra-aggressive batting, England took apart New Zealand in the ODI series before the Ashes. It looked the part once again during the one-off Twenty20 International, which it won by 5 runs, but Australia seemed to have learned its lessons quickly as it notched up a 59-run win on Thursday. 

The architect of the victory was Matthew Wade (71 not out off 50 balls), helping Australia recover from a middle-order collapse to post a healthy 305 for 6. The other positive from the encounter was the performances of the bowlers. Relying on five medium-pacers and Glenn Maxwell’s offspin, Australia was able to bowl England out for 246.

Mitchell Starc had some trouble at the top when Jason Roy and Alex Hales took him on, but once Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins and Shane Watson got into their stride, they were able to put the muzzle on England. 

While the top order looks set with Joe Burns and David Warner upfront and Steven Smith, the skipper, to follow, the middle — comprising George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell and Shane Watson — hasn’t done enough to inspire confidence and will want to set the record straight.

At the other end, England too has a good bunch of bowlers in its ranks. Ignoring that it went for runs in the first ODI, the side with Steven Finn, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes leading the pace unit and Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in the spin department — looks compact. Still, it’s England’s batting that Australia will be the most wary of.

Roy and Hales seemed comfortable facing the new ball and James Taylor is a steadying presence at No 3. The explosive middle order kicks off with Eoin Morgan, the England skipper, and gets progressively intense with Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali to come after. It’s safe to say that England’s batting looks formidable despite the absence of Joe Root. 

Although the first match went Australia’s way by a comfortable margin, England will be expected to bounce back, and what better place to do it than at the Home of Cricket.

Teams (from): 

England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Billings, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Australia: David Warner, Shane Watson, Steve Smith (capt), Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Agar, George Bailey, Joe Burns, James Pattinson.

Source: ICC