Right, that’s it from me. Thanks for your company, your emails and tweets. And most of all your birthday wishes. I’m off to enjoy a hard-earned bacon bap. You should stick around on site for all the reports and reaction. Cheerio!
What have England learned? Nothing they didn’t already know really. They need to bat better. They need to bowl better. And the World Cup is one game closer …
“Comprehensive” would be the word there. That was a battering.
Australia win by three wickets
Faulkner gets just enough on the next to send the ball over short midwicket. So Australia win with 61 balls to spare and pick up that bonus point.
WICKET! Haddin run out 16 (Australia 233-7)
This actually a terrific over from Broad – he out-thinks the batsmen, once, twice, three times and from the fourth they get in a right tangle and Haddin is run out by Bopara at the non-strikers end. That leaves Australia two balls to get two runs.
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39th over: Australia 227-6 (Haddin 15, Faulkner 4) Faulkner belts the last for yet another four, leaving Australia with three needed from the next over to claim the bonus point.
WICKET! Warner c Bell b Woakes 127 (Australia 227-6)
Another four, clubbed by Warner past mid on, makes it five in seven balls. From the next Warner goes right-handed, the full switch, but can only pick out the man at mid on. Or mid off. And then next is a shambolic waist high full toss that he puts away for four more. This is now a proper battering for England (though I suppose you could argue that Australia would not be batting like this were it not for the carrot of the bonus point). He goes for one more, but it’s a slower ball from Woakes and he can only sky to Bell at deep point. So, a fine innings comes to an end. Warner makes a furious 127 from 115 balls.
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38th over: Australia 219-5 (Warner 119, Haddin 14) Clang! Haddin slams Broad down the ground for four. Clonk! Then baseball-bats the next down to cow corner for four more. Crump! He backs away to leg and slashes fiercely through the offside for a third. A single. Then … CRASH! Warner carts Broad wide of midwicket for a fourth boundary in five balls. And they add a single from the last. Eighteen (18) from the over. Sixteen (16) more required in 12 balls for that bonus point.
37th over: Australia 201-5 (Warner 114, Haddin 1) Brad Haddin strides out and is off the mark immediately. But that’s an excellent over from Woakes – three runs and two wickets.
WICKET! Maxwell c Buttler b Woakes 0 (Australia 200-5)
Now then. Woakes beats Maxwell’s outside edge (and I mean beats – he didn’t hit it) but the umpire’s finger goes up. He may have been bamboozled by the bat flicking the pad or the deck, but he really shouldn’t have been. Still, Maxwell goes second ball.
WICKET! Bailey c Buttler b Woakes 10 (Australia: 199-4)
Bailey looks to pull Woakes but can only get a toe end on the ball. It loops up and Buttler jogs round to pouch.
36th over: Australia 198-3 (Warner 113, Bailey 10) Another 42 runs needed then as Broad returns. Australia have 90 balls to win the game or 30 balls if they want the bonus point. The batsmen can’t find the rope on this occasion, though, with Broad keeping it nice and full. Five singles from the over.
35th over: Australia 193-3 (Warner 110, Bailey 8) Ooh, the replays show that Bailey should’ve been given out from the final ball of that Ali over. Ah well. Time for the batting power play, with Australia perhaps eyeing that bonus point. Woakes returns; Warner dances down the pitch and has a waft. Somehow the ball avoids everything. Not so from the next, a clubbing pull for four. And Bailey joins the fun with a pull of his own. Oh cripes, this isn’t England’s “short balls in the batting power play” method coming to the fore again is it?
34th over: Australia 182-3 (Warner 106, Bailey 4) … and he can’t get away a full one from Ali. And the next is pushed to short extra cover. A bit of tension, just a soupçon, creeps into the SCG. Ali can’t keep the pressure on, though: a loose one down the leg side is bunted away to fine leg for four and SCG stands to applaud a wonderful innings. Bailey is thwacked on the pad from the last and there’s an appeal more in hope than expectation, but Dharmasene says no.
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33rd over: Australia 175-3 (Warner 99, Bailey 4) CLONK! Warner clobbers Finn through the covers in flashy fashion, then trots a single from the next. He moves on to 98 from 93, then straight to 99 with a clip off his hip. And he’ll get the chance for a maiden ODI century on home soil at the SCG from the first ball of the next over …
32nd over: Australia 168-3 (Warner 93, Bailey 3) Three more dots as Ali twirls in once more. Then three singles. You’ve seen worse bowling performances from England, but they just haven’t put enough runs on the board to apply any pressure.
31st over: Australia 165-3 (Warner 91, Bailey 2) The captain doesn’t seem to fussed about this bonus point business. He plays six ramrod straight defensive prods as Finn rumbles in once more and it’s a maiden.
30th over: Australia 165-3 (Warner 91, Bailey 2) A couple trio quartet of dots from Ali at Bailey, who then gently pushes to long on for a single. And Warner, eyeing his century now, scampers a couple more of the last.
29th over: Australia 162-3 (Warner 89, Bailey 1) Chance! Warner pulls Finn to deep midwicket where Root gathers. Meanwhile the batsmen have got themselves into a right pickle in going for the second. Bailey is out by a yard if Finn gathers and takes the bails, but he can only gather and fling the ball blindly wide of the stumps. It perhaps looks worse than it really is on the slow-mo replay, but it does look awful.
28th over: Australia 158-3 (Warner 86, Bailey 0) “Whose brainstorming idea was it to deploy four steady-as-you like right arm pacemen?” wonders Krishnan Patel, who I can’t help but notice hasn’t wished me happy birthday. “Jordan on a bad day will send down ten wides, Finn has lost all control and Woakes is there for his batting. Seriously, Tredders, Jimmy and Broad better get their mojo or it looks like an attack that Rohit Sharma would hit 264 (not out) against.”
Anderson isn’t yet fully fit, but I do think that given England are trying to work out their World Cup XI leaving Tredwell out is a very odd decision. He’s got to be in the side, so why not try to work out how you compose the XI with him in it? It’s a problem if you want both Finn and Anderson in there too, but it’s no good just ignoring the issue and hoping it’ll go away.
WICKET! Smith b Ali 37 (Australia 158-3)
Smith looks to plant Ali into the stands from the final ball of the over, but connects only with fresh Sydney air and is clean bowled. To say the celebrations are muted would be mute buttons on remote controls the world over.
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27th over: Australia 154-2 (Warner 84, Smith 35) Yikes! This was nearly very, very nasty for the returning Steven Finn. As he lands in his delivery stride the ankle on his back leg gives way and he crumbles to the turf, via a knee into the stumps. The crowd groan and wince as the replays are shown on the big screen but Finn is up and smiling, if a little ruefully. Horrible moment, but no damage done. Warner adds the salt with a club to midwicket for a four that brings up the Australia 150.
26th over: Australia 148-2 (Warner 79, Smith 34) Warner pushes Ali for a single and the batsmen high five as they cross. Smith then crashes another one of those upright-sweeps for four to square leg … and it was so beautifully timed it hit the square leg boundary at exactly the point you’d label the square leg boundary on a map of the ground. Another 87 runs required and 24 overs in which to get them. Although if they want the bonus point then they’ll need to get them before the 40th over. They could well do.
25th over: Australia 140-2 (Warner 77, Smith 29) Bopara strays to leg – unforgivable at his pace – and Smith glances fine for four. This is a stroll for Australia at the moment. Gold from Bumble on Sky: “Do you know the lead singer of ZZ Top? Frank Beard, and he didn’t have one.” We’re at that stage.
24th over: Australia 132-2 (Warner 76, Smith 22) Smith’s had enough: a skip, a thunk, a six over long off. Ali recovers well, though, and keeps them to just the three further singles.
23rd over: Australia 123-2 (Warner 75, Smith 14) Time for popular beat combo RavBop and the Variations. A beauty from Bopara – a slower attempted yorker – flummoxes Warner but the edge skitters past a stranded Buttler (who is standing up) and away for a couple more. And that’s pretty much that.
22nd over: Australia 118-2 (Warner 72, Smith 12) Ali again. Warner, enjoying himself today I think it’s fair to say, whips away for a single. Steve Smith isn’t enjoying himself quite as much, but his batting partner is taking all the pressure off. An upright sweep brings him three and takes him to 12 from 27. Warner has 72 from 67.
21st over: Australia 114-2 (Warner 71, Smith 9) Jordan (5-0-22-1) continues and after one ball he’s Jordan (5.1-0-26-1) – Warner pulls economically for four, with Root just unable to cut the thing off on the rope. The second is chopped away for two more, the third (a chunky morsel of legside filth), is helped on its way for four.
20th over: Australia 103-2 (Warner 60, Smith 9) In between the 19th and 20th overs? The Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations. See, that makes sense to me. Anyway, Ali continues. There’s the odd grimace from Warner at the end of each run at the moment, with some suggestion he’s struggling with his hamstring a touch. But he’s not being overly hampered by it, whatever the problem is. Five singles from the over.
19th over: Australia 98-2 (Warner 58, Smith 7) Between overs they blast out the Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony over the Tannoy. Choon, obviously, but not sure it’s really Inbetween Over Music. Jordan continues and the batsmen continue to milk: three singles from the first three balls, then a bowler-bothering edge for four from Warner. A stinking stop from Bell at point from the last prevents more runs but eight from the over nevertheless.
18th over: Australia 90-2 (Warner 51, Smith 5) Moeen Ali into the attack for the first time. Warner looks to reverse sweep the first ball and misses prompting a huge appeal. It’s very full but just going down I reckon, and so does umpire Dharmasena. Smith, who hasn’t quite got going here (he’s four from 17 balls), first looks to use his feet, then plays from the crease, then dances down the track and chips straight of mid on for a single.
17th over: Australia 88-2 (Warner 50, Smith 4) Warner gets lucky – an abortive pull sends a top edge floating tantalisingly over square leg but it drops safe. Then Jordan gets lucky – he offers Smith the juiciest of juicy wide ones and Smith clobbers the thing with the thunderous force of an angry Zeus … straight at Ian Bell at point. Warner brings up his 50 with a single. It’s taken him 48 balls and it’s been a blend of brutality and brilliance with the odd botch thrown in for good measure. Just three from the over.
16th over: Australia 85-2 (Warner 48, Smith 3) A bit of good ol’ fashioned nudge and nurdle from the batsmen, for pretty much the first time in the innings, brings a couple more singles. The required rate is not much more than four an over from this point, so there’s no need for any rush. Three from Broad’s over.
On commentary, talk has turned to David Boon’s sweaty trousers which at one point were “so wet he couldn’t keep them up” in Sri Lanka back in the day. An endearing image I’m sure you’ll agree.
15th over: Australia 83-2 (Warner 47, Smith 2) Better from Jordan here. He’s found his line, although at the moment it helps to bowl at Smith, who is playing the cool calm pond to Warner’s raging rapids. A single and a couple of leg byes to the total.
14th over: Australia 80-2 (Warner 47, Smith 1) Broad looks to tempt Smith outside off, but the batman keeps his powder bone-dry and simply jabs away a single from the third ball. Then this is brilliant from Warner – Broad sends down a bumper, Warner sways out of the way but leaves the bat just under his chin and flicks the ball over Buttler’s head for four. And he follows up with a few verbals for the bowler. The next disappears to the cover boundary courtesy of a checked drive. The inevitability of defeat means that even from an England perspective he’s a joy to watch at times.
“Morgan’s dashing lofted cover drive to get his ton was a revealing moment,” writes Richard Wilson. “You need a lot of moxie to do that on 98. Attitude, swagger and giant self-belief. A shot in the arm for player and team. It’s thus kind of grim when the Australians come out and start doing exactly that in the first few overs. That’s bound to make you wilt a little.”
13th over: Australia 71-2 (Warner 39, Smith 0) So then, Steve Smith. He’s in half-decent nick, eh?
WICKET! Watson c Woakes b Jordan 16 (Australia 71-2)
Like the front page of the Daily Star circa 1998 it’s Jordan again. And he’s grabbed himself a wicket. It’s banged in short, Watson looks to pull but top edges. And with three fielders hovering around like awkward guests at a party, Woakes takes responsibility and a good catch.
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12th over: Australia 70-1 (Warner 38, Watson 16) Broad finds Watson’s edge with the first but the field is spread and it would’ve dropped short of first slip anyway. And then there’s an agonising near miss for Morgan, who skitters after a miscued Warner drive and is perhaps an inch away from getting his fingers to it. The batsmen run three.
11th over: Australia 64-1 (Warner 33, Watson 15) I’d be tempted to throw the ball to Moeen Ali at this point, but it’s Chris Jordan who comes into the attack for the first time. CJ didn’t get where he is today by sending down floaty wide ones but that’s exactly what he’s done here – Watson clubs him backward of square for another boundary. And he follows that up with some Very Average stuff. Watson twice taps casually for twos then drifts uppishly for a single. Nine from the over.
10th over: Australia 55-1 (Warner 33, Watson 6) BOOOOOOOOO! It’s Captain Hook Stuart Broad into the attack! Warner greets him with a quite brilliant back foot cover drive for four. Fine shot. And he picks up a couple more with a clip to leg. Warner has 33 from 34 balls and Australia are cruising pretty serenely towards this modest total.
9th over: Australia 49-1 (Warner 27, Watson 6) Woakes is on the mark once more here, sending down four dots at Watson before blotting the old copybook with one that’s too full and too straight – clipped through square leg for four. That’s the only scoring shot of the over, though.
8th over: Australia 45-1 (Warner 27, Watson 2) Finn continues and Warner finds the rope with a lovely chipped drive over the man at short extra cover. As Mark Taylor points out on commentary, he looks a much better player in this format when he forgets the flailing and plays (apologies for this next phrase) Proper Cricket Shots. The last also disappears to the boundary, this time via a neatly controlled late chop down to third man.
7th over: Australia 35-1 (Warner 18, Watson 1) Watson gets off the mark from his first ball (all three Australia batsmen have now done that) but Woakes then cramps Warner for space as he has done on a couple of occasions. Another fine over.
“Hello John – happy birthday, old sport,” writes Helen Tookey. Thank you, Helen, Very kind. “Mine was on Wednesday so I know exactly how rubbish it is having a January birthday – it’s dark, it’s cold, everyone is broke after Christmas and gloomy about going back to work. Every year I decide I’m going to have an alternative birthday in summer so that I could actually do something fun, but I never get round to it. How about we form a Society for the Promotion of Alternative Summer Birthdays for the January-Born? Or I suppose moving to Australia might be an option.”
Like it. We might need to work on the acronym though …
WICKET! Finch b Woakes 15 (Australia 33-1)
England get their slice of luck! Finch looks to force away a drive outside off and Woakes gets just enough movement to find the inside edge. The ball clatters into the stumps and Finch has to walk.
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6th over: Australia 33-0 (Warner 17, Finch 15) A reprieve for Finch this time as he drives sweetly straight back to the bowler, but Finn can only get his fingertips to the thing. It was barely a chance, really, but sometimes they stick. Instead it’s four more. That’s the slice of luck that England need to go their way with a total like this to defend. This pair are both attacking the ball with wild abandon, not always successfully it has to be said, but from the last Warner gets enough on a thunk over the covers to bring four more.
5th over: Australia 24-0 (Warner 13, Finch 11) Woakes is bowling very well here. At times he looks such a hittable pace but his accuracy is more than making up for that at the moment. There’s a moment of disquiet for Finch as he scrambles through for the quickest of quick singles, then Warner forgets the flailing for a moment and instead unfurls another sumptuous off drive for four more. Five from the over.
4th over: Australia 19-0 (Warner 9, Finch 10) Finn follows up the leggish half-volley that ended his last over with a leggish half-volley to start this one. Finch confidently glances fine for four. Then an extraordinary shot from Warner – he looks to drive over the top but the ball just sticks in the pitch a touch and he ends up sending the ball steepling into space over mid on. It’s in the air long enough to learn Spanish and knit a rather fetching sweater but somehow it returns to earth unmolested by an England fielder. Warner celebrates the reprieve with a couple of couples.
3rd over: Australia 10-0 (Warner 5, Finch 5) Warner inside edges onto his pad as he looks to force one away of the back foot, then he follows that up by trying to smash Woakes into orbit but connecting only with Sydney air. And after all that it’s a maiden.
“Happy birthday!” writes Phil Withall (thanks Phil, you’re the only one to remember). “As a gift to you England have arranged for you to have an early release from the OBO! We all get given things we don’t want, if only you could exchange it for something less painful, a colonic irrigation for instance.”
2nd over: Australia 10-0 (Warner 5, Finch 5) Finch misses out on a loosener from Finn – a lolloping short wide one that begged to be spanked to the rope but instead finds itself clanked to mid off. Finn quickly gets his radar tuned in, though, and by the fifth ball he’s frustrated Finch enough for the batsmen to have an airy waft outside off, the ball seaming back noticeably and beating the inside edge. But to slightly tarnish an otherwise solid start, the last is a middle-and-leg near-half-volley that Finch is able to clip through midwicket for four.
1st over: Australia 6-0 (Warner 5, Finch 1) In comes Chris Woakes and Warner immediately skews a thick edge wide of second slip to get off the mark. Finch does likewise with a push-and-scamper. The next is a dot which means that after three balls the scores are neatly mirrored – England were 0-2, Australia are 2-0. A gorgeous cover drive from Warner from the next brings the first boundary of the day. Six from the over, which is ended with one from Woakes that just tucks Warner up a touch.
Right, the players are back out. Australia chasing 235. Off we go.
As Melinda Farrell points out on popular social media site ‘The Twitter’: “In the 21 ODIs England have played since they were last in Australia they have batted out their 50 overs on 6 occasions.”
It’s now something of a theme for this England side. Peter Moores, in his pre-departure press conference, said: “Anyone who watched us bat in Sri Lanka saw us play in a different style. We didn’t always execute it perfectly because we got bowled out but we scored at a quicker rate than Sri Lanka in most of the games.”
I’m generally happier with the England batting lineup than the bowling attack (particularly the Tredwellless version chosen today), but it’s an increasingly worrying trend, regardless of style or scoring rate.
Plus ça change … In other news, it’s my birthday today. It’s cold. It’s dark. My alarm went off at 4am. And the first sound my now 34-year-old ears heard was the clatter of an England wicket. In these uncertain times, as we all continue on our inexorable march towards the end, at least we can all be reassured that at any given moment, someplace, somewhere, be it beach or boulevard, an English batsman is being dismissed by an Australian bowler.
Quite comforting when you think about it.
Cheers Geoff and good morning everybody. And good afternoon everybody. That could’ve been a lot worse for England. It’s still not great, not exactly a confidence-booster, nothing like enough, but, you know, it could’ve been worse. And anyway it says here in my ECB guidebook to the England ODI side that we should “take the positives”.
Australia will probably feel a little frustrated that they’re not chasing 150-odd after the start they made. They’ll be supremely confident of knocking this off, though, even if the track looks occasionally awkward.
England set Australia 235 to win in 50 overs
It’s been an entertaining innings. Australia breathed fire early, reducing England to 5/69. But new captain Eoin Morgan came to the crease in the fourth over at 3/12, and batted through until the 48th over to score 121 from 136 balls. A brilliant innings, deserving of that sort of praise, while all was falling around him. He got a little support, principally from Jos Buttler and Chris Jordan, but did most of the lifting himself, scoring more than half of his team’s runs.
It was pace and new-ball swing that did the damage early, Mitchell Starc getting two wickets with the first three balls of the match.
Starc ended up with 4/42 from 8.5 overs.
Cummins had 1/43 from 9.
Faulkner 3/47 from 10.
Doherty 1/38 from 10.
Maxwell 1/37 from 6.
Watson 0/23 from 4.
Glenn Maxwell took four catches as well, while Warner and Bailey were excellent in the field.
We’ll have a break until the second innings, then it’s over to Australia’s batsmen to show what they can do. England have a reasonable total to defend if they can knock over a couple early. That’s me done - Geoff Lemon out, and John Ashdown will take you through the chase.
47.5 overs: England 224-10 (Broad 0*)
The over started so well for Morgan, going back in his crease to loft Starc high over the long-on fence with a true clean swing of the bat. Then he drove Starc savagely wide of mid-off for four. But then came the wicket, and the very next ball came the end.
WICKET! Finn 0, b Starc
Starc gets his fourth, came around the wicket and bowled wide on the crease, angled in, a bit of swing perhaps, far too good for Steven Finn who came down the wrong line and too late, and the ball kissed his off stump before flouncing off to the boundary.
The innings is done.
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WICKET! Morgan 121, c Maxwell b Starc
It’s all over! What a show it has been. Eoin Morgan gives Maxwell a fourth catch and Starc a third wicket, but more importantly he’s given England their only thrill of the day, and done so in spades. A short ball pulled to deep midwicket, and a brilliant innings comes to a close.
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47th over: England 224-8 (Morgan 111)
Well, runs flowed and the wicket fell. Jordan struck two braces when Faulkner got into the pads and was twice turned away. Then from what should have been the last ball, Faulkner bowled a slower ball that got away from him and went down leg for five wides. He may be glad he did, because he got a wicket from the rebowled next ball. Five runs for a wicket is worth is, yeah?
WICKET! Jordan 17, c Maxwell b Faulkner
Another one bites the dust, and Maxwell takes a third catch. At the end of what was an expensive Faulkner over, he gets the wicket as Jordan goes back to a ball that wasn’t that short, pulls off the top edge, and it loops to deep midwicket.
The crowd have long memories, Broad getting a pantomime boo as he walks out. Really, team? Old news, surely.
46th over: England 215-7 (Morgan 111, Jordan 14)
Runs are a-Cummins. The speedster is generous with a couple of wides, plus they work a run or two from every ball, plus the second-last ball is a genuine nick from Jordan that goes for four. A healthy 12 from the over.
Thank god for chemists. Peter Anderson-Stewart emerges from his secret lab to laugh evilly and state, “From my dim dark nuclear medicine past, I’d be guessing that any rare isotope would probably be one of the most expensive things, something like Americium 242 or perhaps one of the Argon ones. Here you are dealing in micrograms (10 to the power of -6), nanograms (10 to the power of -9), picograms (10 to the power of -12) or femtograms (10 to the power of -15) and smaller …
“Besides, I suspect that they’d rather have it termed as something named after an elemental isotope than a wad of equine ejaculate.”
You can’t deny that the latter is evocative. And suitably undesirable.
45th over: England 203-7 (Morgan 107, Jordan 8)
Morgan better able to work Faulkner’s length than Buttler was, knocks one to the on-side. Jordan hands him the strike back, then Morgan goes over cover, inside out again, he’s done that well today, and there’s the ton.
102 from 127 balls, 9 fours, 1 six. That is a truly brilliant innings from among the wreckage his teammates left him.
He gets four more to celebrate, glanced through fine leg. The formerly economical Faulkner goes for 11, and the 200 is raised.
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44th over: England 192-7 (Morgan 97, Jordan 7)
Starc’s back, Morgan off the pads for a single. Jordan is edging to point. Given England’s start, cresting 200 would be a major victory. Jordan ducks a bouncer. And what an innings from Morgan in the circumstances. We’ve seen plenty from Steve Smith this summer that speaks to the idea of captaincy elevating some batsmen’s games. Morgan, in the shortest term, has responded in the same fashion.
Jordan drives well, square, bending further behind square, and they get two runs. That’s it.
43rd over: England 189-7 (Morgan 96, Jordan 5)
Six! Once again, ignore my predictions. Morgan sees one he likes in Maxwell’s shop window, sashays down the main street to fetch it, finds the shop closed, bashes in the window with a brick and makes his escape. Waaay over long on.
Four! Just to follow that up, Maxwell bowls flatter and wider and Morgan drives inside out over cover. Outrageous shot, that.
With a few singles and a two, that’s 15 from the over, and Ton Watch ticks toward midnight.
The inestimable Robert Wilson is seeing it just right. “This rather reminds me of my days in the 18th century Royal Navy. A sharp encounter this. The rigging’s full of the fallen English while the bonny Irish lad stands alone on the foredeck, repelling the savage hordes with a rusty cutlass and a merry eye. Same old, same old.This ship’s a-going down. I blame Cromwell. Very much.”
42nd over: England 174-7 (Morgan 84, Jordan 2)
Starc is back for Cummins, pace for pace, not exactly like for like. Morgan faces out a couple of dots then a wide, before he whisks a single off his pads. Jordan drops and runs into the off-side. Morgan takes one more. They probably can’t afford to go the slog until the 48th with three wickets in hand.
41st over: England 170-7 (Morgan 82, Jordan 1)
Jordan off the mark from his second ball with a little push, and they harvest three singles from the Maxwell over. That’s the effect a wicket can have. Especially when it follows six other wickets. England like a miser trying to get a meal together, scrabbling in the cupboard for scraps. Still nine overs left for a Morgan special, or they can come out and bowl like gods.
WICKET! Woakes 8, c Smith b Maxwell
That’s a soft old dismissal. Maxwell bowls a bit short, around the wicket, straightening it into Woakes, and on the back foot the batsman just lifts it gently to midwicket for a stooping catch. Woakes was given a life but couldn’t do much with it.
40th over: England 167-6 (Morgan 80, Woakes 8)
Plenty of singles and a wide in the Cummins over, five conceded in total. Down to the last ten overs now.
Says Robin Hazlehurst, “I believe the correct ECB management-speak approved term for a duck first ball in a series is ‘not what we were looking for’ or ‘an area we need to focus on a little’.”
Martin Pickering has the low-down though. “One of the most expensive items, ounce-for-ounce, is thoroughbred horse semen. I’ll leave other contributors to, ahem, come up with a suitable term for the kind of duck you’re looking for.”
39th over: England 162-6 (Morgan 78, Woakes 6)
Maxi’s back, alright. Morgan knocks a single, then Woakes cracks the cover drive but Bailey saves it on the dive, they can only get one. Two more singles from the over.
38th over: England 158-6 (Morgan 76, Woakes 4)
Dropped. That was a simple one, but Dough-boy says dough-not catch like me. Woaked flicked Cummins off his pads, there was so much pace that it carried all the way to long leg in the deep, Doherty was standing still waiting for it, and just had his hands in the wrong spot. Cupped and fingers downward, the ball hits the the heel of his hands and bounces out.
An appeal down leg side for Cummins against Morgan, but it was pad. Then Cummins goes that line again and Morgan glances very fine for four. I reckon it’s Ton Watch for the England skipper, on a day when no one else could muster a blast of the trumpet.
37th over: England 152-6 (Morgan 71, Woakes 3)
Woakes gets on his way with a mistimed flick in the air from Faulkner. Two runs. Woakes stretches to a ball outside off for one to third man, and then Morgan... well, he’s playing a gem here. On the pads, it’s nearly through him but very late he comes down on it, and even as Faulkner is throwing his hands up at nearly having caught the batsman LBW the ball is speeding through deep backward square to beat the field into the rope.
The 150 is up.
36th over: England 145-6 (Morgan 67, Woakes 0)
Cummins back, and Morgan immediately sets about demolishing those tidy figures I just quoted. Smack, as the first ball is short and wide and with a flick of the wrists Morgan sends the cut shot through cover. Lovely. He gets two runs to the leg side as Cummins over-corrects onto the pads, then two more. Cummins finally gets it right and sends a brute at Morgan’s gloves and the England captain is hopping.
35th over: England 137-6 (Morgan 59, Woakes 0)
England in danger of being bowled out now, when the lower-middle order need to start playing shots. Two singles from Faulkner’s over, both to Morgan as the batsmen crossed before Buttler was caught.
How are these for some figures?
Faulkner 7-0-20-2 (2.85 an over)
Cummins 5-1-12-1 (2.40)
Doherty 10-0-38-1 (3.80)
WICKET! Buttler 28, c Warner b Faulkner
Jos, what have you done? Faulkner had tied Buttler down for several overs and the pressure told. Finally Faulkner bowled a bit wider, outside off and full. Buttler went for it but I reckon it was a slower ball, he didn’t get the timing, and it sliced high off the outside edge and out toward deep cover. Warner was there with the sun in his eyes, but he held one hand up to block out the light, and guided the ball toward his other hand before clasping both together. Very tough catch, well completed, and Faulkner gets his second.
34th over: England 135-5 (Morgan 57, Buttler 28)
Six! Morgan has had enough of quiet Doherty overs so he comes down the pitch to drive over long-off. He didn’t catch it cleanly and it could nearly have been skewed, but he got just enough on it to make it almost follow his original intention, just going a lot higher in the air and landing six inches beyond the rope. Would have been caught by a long-on.
That’s a half-century for Morgan from 88 balls. Only four boundaries and that six.
And that’s Doherty’s spell bowled out, 1/38, exactly what they want from him.
Drinks.
Updated
33rd over: England 126-5 (Morgan 49, Buttler 27)
Dropped! Maxwell is back and his first ball gets a thick top edge from Buttler as he cuts, and it goes straight out of the gloves. No time to get to it, those ones can go down very easily. A couple of singles and a two follow.
32nd over: England 122-5 (Morgan 48, Buttler 24)
Four singles from Doherty’s over, and Morgan raises the 50 partnership from 92 balls.
31st over: England 118-5 (Morgan 46, Buttler 22)
Buttler finally gets a run against Faulkner, as the bowler gets a bit too full and is driven. Morgan immediately gets busy with two runs through square.
“Maybe Bell got what can come to be known as a Platinum Duck?” suggests Ryan Renton. “I like it. I think it sounds pleasing.”
I’m thinking platinum ducks could be the first ball of the match. What’s more rare than platinum? Is saffron still the most expensive substance purchasable?
Saffron Duck. I can get behind that.
Sounds delicious.
Updated
30th over: England 114-5 (Morgan 43, Buttler 21)
Doherty on a leg stump line and Morgan plays a half ramp shot, just getting in position as if to sweep well before the ball arrived, leaving his bat out with the face pointing upward, and deflecting the ball through fine leg. After talking up his cautious approach Buttler pulls out a reverse sweep, catches it well out to deep backward point but Faulker dives and saves. Slack work from Maxwell at backward point, who should have run out to the boundary to gather that tap-back and kept them to two runs. Instead they get three as there was no one to tidy up Faulkner’s good work. A single to long-on, then a single on the sweep, and the over concedes six.
29th over: England 108-5 (Morgan 41, Buttler 17)
Faulkner settling into a line and length too. It’s much easier when you know the batsmen can’t afford to attack. Faulkner is left-arm over, Buttler is a right-hander, so Faulkner is back of a length, angling a little but giving no width outside off. Each ball cramps Buttler with its line and its length, up toward his stomach, making him defend it away.
Six in a row on the same spot, and it’s a maiden. Lovely. Buttler and Morgan trying to be patient, knowing they need to bat at least another 15 overs here and then see what’s what.
28th over: England 108-5 (Morgan 41, Buttler 17)
Doherty still bowling beautifully. He’s on the stumps, sliding some across a little, holding some up, giving no width to swing. One ball sneaks down leg side for a wide, but it’s the only score from the over, Morgan trapped on the spot as he can only push again and again to the bowler, to midwicket, to cover.
27th over: England 107-5 (Morgan 41, Buttler 17)
Nearly caught at backward point! Faulkner bowls wide, Morgan crashes it, Smith goes airborne and gets fingertips to it but not enough of them. It wasn’t a good ball but it nearly got the result. Instead, two runs. Good little partnership building now. Morgan takes another run. Has a half-century in his sights.
26th over: England 104-5 (Morgan 39, Buttler 17)
Doherty has now bowled six overs for 19 runs. Barely three an over. Great stuff. They get three singles here, his field is well placed and he’s bowling to it. A lot of balls pushed back to the bowler or worked to fieldsmen on the on-side.
25th over: England 101-5 (Morgan 37, Buttler 16)
The hundred is up! This pitch has had some tricks. If England can get to 180 or 200 they’ll still be a chance. Morgan is producing an excellent first-up captain’s innings. They hold back against Faulkner, just working a couple of runs but not trying anything aggressive.
Various responses coming through on the Clarke issue. Despite the mess today, England have seemed more optimistic since their own ODI captaincy change.
Jonny Hodgetts: “I like Clarke the captain and I like Clarke the batsman. However, I do agree with your thoughts. Poor Bailey has done a remarkable job despite the uncertainty and the plethora of daggers that dog his back. For Australia to make a run of it (or any team for that matter), you need a settled squad as England rightly learned just in time. This should and deserves to be Bailey’s squad...”
Sarah Bacon: “Horrid to think Michael Clarke mightn’t get a true swansong. We’re solid, his rehab is going great guns, he deserves his place.”
24th over: England 98-5 (Morgan 35, Buttler 15)
Doherty, that bouncing-rabbit approach, bowls a wide, then drags short and is cut through cover for three to Buttler. Morgan pushes one to mid-on and Doherty nearly stops it but can’t, and there’s one more run.
Can’t resist a second contribution from the man the kids call Gloomy Phil Withall. “In reply to Disco’s question, I believe it’s called ‘an England career’.”
23rd over: England 93-5 (Morgan 34, Buttler 12)
England bunkering down a bit now. Only the single from Starc’s over, and that came from the edge of Buttler’s bat and was nearly caught at point. Starc is now getting the ball to move into the left-handed Morgan. He’s been terrific today, so much more dynamic with the while ball in hand.
22nd over: England 92-5 (Morgan 34, Buttler 11)
They can’t get rid of Doherty, this batting pair. A sinle and a two from the over. Most of the balls just end up back with the bowler. He said he would need to be very accurate to survive in this team, and he’s doing it here.
21st over: England 89-5 (Morgan 32, Buttler 10)
Starc returns. Morgan is watchful, waiting for the fourth ball to play a scoring shot through cover for three runs. There’s an edged single from the last ball.
Good question from Disco: if a first-baller is a golden duck, and no balls faced is a diamond duck, what about the first ball of a series?
20th over: England 85-5 (Morgan 29, Buttler 9)
Doherty is doing that tightening-up job that he’s in the squad for. Buttler is blocking and blocking, the only runs from the over coming from an edge that goes for two.
19th over: England 83-5 (Morgan 29, Buttler 7)
Morgan isn’t giving it away yet. Onto the front foot and clunks Watson through mid-off for four.
Updated
18th over: England 77-5 (Morgan 24, Buttler 6)
Doherty accurate and hard to hit. Just two singles. We’re not even 20 overs into a match where George Bailey’s side has England five wickets down, and Stuart Clark of the NSW Mafia is already trying to talk him out of the side in favour of Michael Clarke.
I wrote a comprehensive analysis of whether Clarke should be in Australia’s World Cup squad the other day, would be interested in people’s thoughts. The right move? A dumb move? You decide, congratulations, you’re now a selector.
17th over: England 75-5 (Morgan 23, Buttler 5)
It’s crazyball. First Watson bowls a regulation seam-up ball on a good length that gets about four inches elevation on the bounce, misses off stump by half an inch and rolls through the Brad Haddin. (Yes, we’re using inches and kilometres in the same day, I told you it’s crazyball.)
Then there’s a nice big pull shot from Buttler that was four all day, but Warner comes belting around the boundary, dives, drags the rope back with his body, gets up again, scrambles back over it and rescues the ball before it touches. All to save one run. Like a hungry Jack Russell down a burrow. Brilliance.
16th over: England 71-5 (Morgan 21, Buttler 2)
Doherty joins the wicket party after conceding just a couple of singles. Buttler takes two runs through square from the last ball.
What is it with people pronouncing the name Xavier as ‘Exavier’? How many Martins are Emartin, or Zacharys are Zedachary?
Updated
WICKET! Bopara 13, c Maxwell b Doherty
The slide continues. Another golden chance for George Bailey, bringing Xavier Doherty on to bowl what Jim Maxwell calls “his left-arm stuff”. It stuffed Bopara, a bit of width, a bit of turn away from the batsman and Bopara tried to cut, his balance wasn’t right, the movement and bounce made a bit of difference but rather than rolling the wrists down he almost did it in reverse, lifting the ball off the bat rather than knocking it earthwards.
Inexplicable, because Maxwell was stationed at backward point, and while the catch dipped on him he held it.
15th over: England 67-4 (Morgan 21, Bopara 12)
Maxwell nearly had a tidy over as Bopara kept finding the field. Only had one run from the first five balls, but Maxwell gives width on the last and Morgan cuts it for four.
For all the wickets they’ve lost, England have at least kept the run rate fairly lively.
Drinks. Make mine a whisky and soda. Make England’s a double.
Updated
14th over: England 62-4 (Morgan 17, Bopara 11)
“England have picked up where they left off last summer. Getting out.” No one pays Stuart Clark to be nice.
An amazing finish to the over from Cummins. A couple of singles first, then Morgan couldn’t get him away. But the last ball of the over lodges in Cummins hand, flies out weirdly, and goes on the full to first slip. You read that correctly, Watson fielded it without the ball bouncing, while Morgan yanked himself away from the delivery but it was never anywhere near him.
Cummins follow-up is a wide bouncer but the umpire takes pity. Or was still recovering. Or hiding. Nobody knows.
13th over: England 59-4 (Morgan 16, Bopara 10)
Glenn Maxwell on pretty early, this pitch expected to turn after the BBL game played on it recently. They work Maxwell comfortably, ones and twos and a couple of byes adding up to eight runs from the over.
Very good, Jonny. You’re free now. Go on. You’re free.
@GeoffLemonSport (ex)Captain Cook will Endeavour to return. You can Banks on it. His being out the side is a Voyage of Discovery for him.
— Jonny Hodgetts (@JonnyHodgetts) January 16, 2015
12th over: England 51-4 (Morgan 14, Bopara 6)
Cummins is back, still fast, mid-140s. He hands them another wide then Bopara glances a single. Morgan coolly uses the pace, leaning back to lift a shorter ball over slip and away through fine third man for four. Deft uppercut. Loves that shot, Morgan.
England’s 50 is up.
11th over: England 45-4 (Morgan 10, Bopara 5)
Lisa Sthalekar on ABC radio is saying that this pair will just be looking to get through blocks of ten overs. That’s ambitious given England have just made it through the first block. They take a couple of singles from Faulkner, before he drifts wide with his last ball and Morgan drives him square for four.
10th over: England 39-4 (Morgan 5, Bopara 4)
“Vindication!” Ex-captain Cook is on an Alastairway to Heaven.
New Captain Morgan is having a rum old time.
He gets a single at least, then Ravi Bopara shows he’s not going to hang around with a nice crunch through cover off Watson for four. Other than that, Watson keeps him quiet.
9th over: England 34-4 (Morgan 4, Bopara 0)
England made 391 in Canberra, currently struggling to reach a tenth of that in Sydney.
On the plus side, Morgan doubled his score that over.
Despair in English ranks was already starting before Moeen Ali got rolled.
@GeoffLemonSport ...and so the road to World Cup elimination begins for England... sigh
— Chris Langmead (@chrislangmead) January 16, 2015
@GeoffLemonSport Oh god, i go back to work for 2 seconds and then this. This isn't a start of a match, it's a crucifixion.
— George D. Wright (@georgedwright) January 16, 2015
@GeoffLemonSport can the Pom request that this is hastily rebranded as a T20? #AUSvENG
— Sayings McSayings (@GreenNGoldMatt) January 16, 2015
WICKET! Ali 22, c Maxwell b Faulkner
Oh, that does it. Moeen Ali was the only man who looked likely today, but they put a deep cover out for him, then James Faulkner put his first ball wide of the off stump and invited the shot. Ali took up the invitation and arrived at the dance right on time.
Updated
8th over: England 32-3 (Ali 22, Morgan 2)
Cummins first spell is done: three overs, three runs, one wicket. Shane Watson replaces him. Morgan gets off the mark with a push to third man. Watson strangely into the idea of a bouncer attack, putting a wide over Ali, then a short one that’s pulled. Morgan gets one to deep midwicket, then...
Four! What a shot from Moeen Ali. His timing, when he’s going, is exquisite. Not a bad ball, decent length, but Ali hung on the back foot and drove through the line of it, leaning back, lifting it over cover.
7th over: England 24-3 (Ali 17, Morgan 0)
Six! Moeen Ali did that all with timing. A bit of a cutter from Starc, that made Ali mistime it but the ball was full, he was through his loft, and with his nice thick bat it was enough to see the ball trampoline away and carry the rope at long-on.
In the way of these things, when Starc bowls a rotten full toss outside off stump, Ali is surprised and can only bunt it to point for a dot. Starc’s bowling in the mid 140s as well now, and Ali edges the last ball of his over through third slip - no one there - and Cummins saves from third man on the dive. Two runs.
Niall Connolly wants to cause great disruption and social unrest. “Geoff, if the bowling speeds are in kph can we have the score in Australian? It’s 2/6. When in Rome?”
We’ve had that debate many times at Guardian Towers. Consistency is the name of the game, so even we humble Australians in the family stick with the way the rest of the world does things.
6th over: England 16-3 (Ali 9, Morgan 0)
Cummins continues and so does the pace. Rips past Ali’s drive with the first ball, Cummins a right-hander so there’s plenty of angle across. That angle saves Ali as he edges to third man. Morgan can’t get Cummins’ pace either, trying to drive but can’t time the stroke.
Here’s some more excellent timing in this two-part correspondence from Oliver Benson. “Looking forward to seeing how England go today Geoff. As a pom residing down in sunny Geelong I’m naturally pessimistic. Looking at those teams I honestly couldn’t say that anyone from the England team would get a place in the Aussie line up. Maybe Bell for Finch based on current form? Buttler for Haddin? Actually, Mo Ali for Xavier.”
That was a moment before the first ball. Followed by:
“That’s how to jinx a man. Drop Bell! Bring back Cook! In other news a colleague has just explained to me what ‘going troppo’ means.”
No danger of going troppo down in Geelong, Oliver.
5th over: England 15-3 (Ali 8, Morgan 0)
Moeen Ali is the only one who’s looked like he knows what he’s doing. Another flick off the pads for two, another less controlled scramble for a single. Morgan plays out a few dots.
Poor Phil Withall. This was sent before the Root dismissal:
“Life has an interesting way of giving you a bad day. At 4.30 this morning I got up for work and broke my toe trying to leave the bedroom in the dark, Now the dismissals of Bell and Taylor havecompounded a shockingly poor Friday. Hoping for improvement.”
Sorry, Phil.
4th over: England 12-3 (Ali 5, Morgan 0)
Eoin Morgan with some cause to reconsider his decision to bat first, walking to the wicket halfway through the fourth over. It’s a wicket maiden from Cummins, who’s looked fierce. A lot more pace in this pitch than there was for him in Canberra.
Some chat on the TV comms that Bell had an inside edge on the ball that trapped him. (Well, it’s not like he faced any others.) He did nick it, but it’s not clear on those replays whether it was pad first. There’s no DRS in this series thanks to India’s involvement, but that probably wouldn’t have been overturned either way.
WICKET! Root 5, c Watson b Cummins
Another one down, Cummins joins the party. Just a good fast ball outside off stump, might have moved away a touch, Root went for the big drive but it was just a bit quick for him and probably a touch too short to drive, he didn’t look quite forward to it. Either way, big edge, safely pouched at slip and England’s top order are a bug on the windscreen.
3rd over: England 12-2 (Ali 5, Root 5)
Starc’s back. Nasty swinging yorker that Ali keeps out with the pad and scrambles a leg bye. Then Root gets one that doesn’t swing and he plays for that swing, a big drive that just beats the edge angling across him.
Then a near run-out as Root nudges towards Bailey at midwicket, Bailey reads the bounce well while running across, takes the ball in his left hand, switches it to his right and throws. He would have had Root by two metres but he couldn’t get stable enough on the move and the throw went wide, where Warner made a sprawling save from mid off.
Starc’s last ball is on the pads again and it’s less dangerous for a leftie, so Ali whips it over midwicket for four.
2nd over: England 6-2 (Ali 1, Root 4)
Picking up where we left off last summer. England helpless against left-arm quick. The real pace is going to come from the other end though, where Patrick Cummins is charging in. His first ball would have been a ripper had Ali been right-handed, back of a length and decking away, but it’s a wide. Ali gets a single and Root cracks a square drive that is stopped well at point.
Cummins is looking seriously fast though. All of those balls have zinged through. The clocker is reading him at over 146 kilometres per hour already. That’s over 90 miles for those in countries yet to catch up.
A disastrous start for England, now these two have to rebuild.
1st over: England 4-2 (Ali 0, Root 4)
Well, well, well. Against the PM’s XI on Wednesday Bell batted from the first ball to the second-last ball of the innings and made 187. Here he batted for the first ball and made a globe. Taylor made 70-odd on Wednesday, he registered a big zero as well.
Joe Root became the first English batsman to not get out to Mitchell Starc today, blocking another swinging ball, then jamming one into the ground that bounced over point and trickled away for four.
WICKET! Taylor 0, lbw Starc
Ok, this is ridiculous. Second ball this time. Another one with some inswing to the right-handed batsman from the left-arm over line. This was much fuller, Taylor was caught on the crease, he fell over the delivery, and it crashed into the pad in front of leg stump. Win the toss, bat, two wickets in the first three balls.
What was I just saying about Johnson for Starc?
Updated
WICKET! Bell 0, lbw Starc
What was that! I was just writing things about getting underway and then Mitchell Starc rips the first ball of the match past Bell’s bat, into his back pad on the knee roll, and he’s plumb in front of the stumps. That got some useful swing and then jagged back in toward the batsman off the pitch.
Updated
How are those teams? That, in my opinion, is pretty much the team Australia should take into the World Cup. Johnson for Starc is the only improvement, with Hazlewood for Doherty on some decks.
England have probably got their best World Cup XI together as well.
England’s captain Eoin Morgan has won the toss and elected to bat. And how cheering is it to see an England team not led by the sad-faced Alastair Cook? My spirits are up near the light towers already.
Teams? Yes. Two of them.
Australia
Finch
Warner
Watson
Smith
Bailey*
Maxwell
Haddin†
Faulkner
Starc
Cummins
Doherty
England
Ali
Bell
Taylor
Root
Morgan*
Bopara
Buttler†
Woakes
Jordan
Broad
Finn
Hello world! Controversy abounds on a gorgeous sunny afternoon here in Sydney - Chappelli was noticed chomping half a party pie at the lunch bar and then double dipping into the bowl of Tabasco. Howls of indignation through the stands! Scandal! Dip-gate!
Fortunately we at the Guardian steer clear of the muckraking crowd, and will not descend to such levels. Geoff Lemon to play your kayak guide down the whitewater rapids of this first One-Day International between Australia and England, kicking off the Tri-Series with India as we prepare for the World Cup.
Could that be too much one-day cricket? As HG Nelson so famously might have said, too much would be barely enough. Let’s go.
Geoff Lemon will be with you shortly to guide you through the first part of the day before John Ashdown takes the reins to see things through to the bitter end. While Geoff wends his merry way through the sea of hacks, laptops and complimentary refreshments in the media box at the SCG in search of his own keyboard, why not catch up with some news out of the England camp yesterday.
Eoin Morgan has attempted to end speculation surrounding the future of Kevin Pietersen by insisting the batsman, sacked by England last February, is not part of his plans as one-day captain.
Read the full story here.
