Australia proved they are still a power in ODI cricket by trouncing England in the 7th and last match to win the ODI series by a hefty margin of 6 to 1. As they did in 2009, they have come back strongly after an Ashes loss to win the ODI series convincingly. There too the margin was same 6-1. Australia must be feeling confident now to defend their World Cup title while England who are already struck with injury woes have little time to revive themselves.
Australia almost played with their second string side as they made 4 changes bringing in Tim Paine, Adam Voges, Jason Krejza and Bollinger in place of Watson, Clarke, Smith and Brett Lee respectively. While for England Steven Davies, Liam Plunkett and Luke Wright replaced Collingwood, Woakes and Morgan. Davies played as a specialist opener. Both teams actually played with two wicket keepers. It was also a captaincy debut for Cam White.
Liam Plunkett who was playing after a long time for England lured Haddin in the very first over to nick behind but Yardy dropped the catch in the slips. He took his revenge in his next over by trapping him LBW which was given out after a review by England. Ferguson who was looking good was out caught in the slips off Anderson to make it 35 for 2. Yardy made amends when he had Haddin caught at the boundary for 27 and when White too departed giving a return catch to Yardy after an out of character innings Australia had lost 4 top wickets for 103. At this delicate stage David Hussey and Voges provided Australia momentum with a 95-run stand. Hussey departed after a run a ball 60 but Voges continued to anchor the innings. Johnson gave him good company in the closing stages and Australia finished at a healthy 279 for 7. It was a good recovery in the end. Voges remained not out on 80 off 72 balls with 4 fours, his highest ODI score. For England Anderson took 3 for 48 while Plunkett and Yardy bagged 2 wickets each.
England had a nightmarish start losing Strauss and Davies with just 5 runs on the board. Both made ducks. Strauss was cleaned up by Tait while a struggling Davies nicked Bollinger behind. England could not recover from this early jolt as Johnson ripped through their middle order by getting Trott, Pietersen and Bell out cheaply. It seemed English batsmen had one foot in the plane to get back home swiftly after a long and demanding tour. Prior who came at 6 played a good hand of 39 but gave Krejza his first ODI wicket. Michael Yardy played well and put some muscle into the batting by putting together little partnerships with prior, Wright and then Plunkett. England were eventually all out for 222 in 44 overs losing the match by 57 runs. Yardy remained not out on his personal best 60 off 76 balls with 3 fours and a six. Johnson took 3 for 18 in his 7 overs while Tait grabbed 3 wickets for 48. Adam Voges was named man of the match while Shane Watson was the man of the series.
This series win must have given Australians some satisfaction apart from giving them the much required momentum for the World Cup. An Ashes loss is irreparable but a thumping win like this can heal some wounds and provide a psychological respite. England, well, have a multitude of problems as their recent record in the subcontinent is already woeful and this loss plus injury scares do not auger well for them.
Match: Australia 279/7 (Voges 80*, D Hussey 60; Anderson 3/48) beat England 222/10 (Yardy 60*, Prior 39; Johnson 3/18, Tait 3/48) by 57 runs.
Series: Australia won by 6-1
Published in SportPulse.Net
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