Australia will leave England with something after all – a one-day series win and their No.1-ranking still intact, following a crushing victory in the decider in Manchester.
Australia sealed the 3-2 series win with an eight-wicket thrashing on the back of a starring bowling effort from Mitch Marsh and John Hastings.
The pair took seven wickets between them as England were skittled for 9-138 on Sunday, with captain Eoin Morgan retired hurt after being struck in the head by a Mitchell Starc bouncer in a distressing incident which briefly halted Australia’s celebrations.
The target of 139 was always going to be difficult to protect, and that proved to be the case as Aaron Finch (70 not out) and George Bailey (41 not out) put on 109 from 93 balls for the third wicket as Australia cruised to 2-140 with 25.4 overs remaining.
Captain Steve Smith and coach Darren Lehmann were pleased that Australia had achieved the result despite losing experienced trio David Warner, Shane Watson and Nathan Coulter-Nile to injury after taking a 2-0 lead following the Lord’s win.
“It’s very satisfying. I think we only had four players left from the World Cup-winning side,” Smith said.
“It’s really pleasing for us to be able to win a series away from home with the lack of experience that we’ve had over here.”
Lehmann added that it was a good preview of how Australia’s squad for the 2019 World Cup squad might start to take shape.
“We lost two-thirds of the (World Cup-winning) squad,” he said.
“I’m pleased for the young guys and to win a pressure game like that is quite exciting for us because that’s what we pride ourselves on, winning those crunch games.
“With a World Cup in 2019 we’ve got a chance to have a look at some younger guys play the game and that’s exciting for us as well.”
England’s innings was rattled early by a barrage from Starc (1-44) and Hastings (3-21), who knocked over the top order to have the hosts reeling at 3-22 in the sixth over.
Starc’s opening over set the tone for the match, twice having Jason Roy (4) given out after being trapped in front.
The opener successfully had the first one overturned, after an inside edge was found on review, and should’ve done so again – with replays showing the delivery which ultimately dismissed him was swinging a long way down the leg side.
The most serious blow, however, was the one which struck Morgan and left him dazed, unsteady on his feet and requiring treatment for concussion.
It revived painful memories for the Australian player, less than one year removed from the tragic death of teammate Phillip Hughes.
Morgan’s departure only accelerated England’s collapse, with allrounder Ben Stokes (42) the sole batsman to have a meaningful impact on the scoreboard before a late cameo from legspinner Adil Rashid (35 not out).
Stokes’ effort ended when he became one of Marsh’s four victims during a stunning spell of seam bowling.
Marsh (4-27) ripped the England middle order apart with consecutive wickets of Jonny Bairstow (10), Moeen Ali (5), David Willey (0) and finally Stokes.
Bowling full and straight, the allrounder had three of his victims, Bairstow, Willey and Stokes, trapped lbw.
Australia’s chase started poorly, with Joe Burns caught behind for a ten-ball duck while Smith fared only slightly better in scoring 12.
However, following lunch, Finch and Bailey unleashed – adding 104 runs in 14.2 overs after the break as they hastily went about chasing down the runs.
Finch’s half century was brought up with a hard sweep for four and came from just 47 balls, while Bailey was no slouch at the other end – hitting seven fours.
– AAP
