Vic Marks’s report from Cardiff:
The right result. Plunkett deservedly finished with 4/53 and Rashid 3/70. Expensive, but the wickets he took were vital. As were the couple from Moeen early to put Australia into such a difficult position at 164-5 in the 31st over. Shaun Marsh never gave it up though, and when he found a suitable partner in Ashton Agar, they got the visitors back in the game with a brilliant 94-run stand. The opener’s 131 from 116 balls was elegant, controlled and brutal depending on what the circumstances required, the younger man (46) showing once again that he has a massive future at international level.
Who says 50-over cricket is no good? Not me. That was a great game. Keep an eye on the website for Vic Marks’ match report. We’ll be back with OBOs from both this series and the England/South Africa/New Zealand T20 tri-series during the week. Thanks for your company. Bye for now from Cardiff!
ENGLAND WIN BY 38 RUNS!
Jhye Richardson is the last man to fall, holing out to long-on to give Plunkett his fourth. Kane Richardson (0*) the not out man.
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47th over: Australia 304-9 (J Richardson2, K Richardson 0) Target 343 39 off 18, if you were wondering.
WICKET! Tye c Billings b Rashid (Australia 303-9)
That should be it. Tye, who can give it a wallop, did find the backward square boundary when Wood miscalculated his run on the rope. But he couldn’t get it over the boundary at long-off with his next swing, picking out Billings who doesn’t drop catches. That’s Rashid’s 100th ODI wicket and his third of the evening.
@collinsadam Paris calling. I don't care what anyone says. Is it ok if if I just crush out on Rashid, that googly little dreamboat? Pick the bones outta that one. Rasheeeeeeeeed! pic.twitter.com/0GvP2SHsVd
— Robert McL Wilson (@Parisbob2001) June 16, 2018
46th over: Australia 295-8 (Tye 2, J Richardson 1) Target 343 “What a knock,” says Phil Tufnell of Marsh on TMS. Too right. He has really put himself into the World Cup frame for next year, for mine. Five runs and the two wickets from the superb Plunkett over. So, Australia need 48 from four.
WICKET! Marsh b Plunkett 131 (Australia 293-8)
The end of a tremendous innings, bowled by a delivery where the big quick rolled his fingers down the seam and hit leg stump. Marsh was trying to heave it over midwicket but full credit to the bowler. In the space of a few balls, Plunkett has locked this up for the hosts.
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WICKET! Paine c Rashid b Plunkett 15 (Australia Australia 292-7)
Paine holes out! Nothing special about that slower ball from Plunkett, sitting up for Paine, but didn’t make the contact he needed to clear the rope. He was dropped the delivery before by Moeen when miscusing a lofted drive but it has only cost them two runs in the wash. Unless Marsh does something astonishing from here... you know what I’m going to say.
45th over: Australia 290-6 (Marsh 131, Paine 13) Target 343 Real gut-running from these two, unable to find the boundary off Rashid, who holds his nerve, but still taking nine from a series of whips and drives and dabs. That’s experience. They are still in this.
44th over: Australia 281-6 (Marsh 128, Paine 7) Target 343 Wide from Wood to begin helps. Both Marsh then Paine are trying to hit the cover off it, the latter the first to found the boundary with a bold hook shot that splits the gap in the deep. BOOOOM! Shaun Marsh goes inside out over cover for SIX! That’s a mighty shot, down on one knee as he made contact. FORGET WHAT I SAID FIVE MINUTES AGO, this is game on again! 16 from it, leaving 62 from 36 balls. If Marsh is there at the end, Australia should win. Wowsers.
43rd over: Australia 265-6 (Marsh 119, Paine 2) Target 343 It is Paine who joins Marsh, cutting to cover for one to get off the mark. Runs of the smaller variety from each of the four remaining deliveries in the Rashid set but only six from it in total, alongside the wicket. That should be the over that finishes Australia. Should.
WICKET! Agar st Buttler b Rashid 46 (Australia 260-6)
Agar played beautifully but Rashid has done him with a lovely wrong’un, tempting him out of his ground and beating the edge. That really turned; Buttler did the rest. They put on 96. Will Paine bat next after the knock he copped earlier?
42nd over: Australia 259-5 (Marsh 115, Agar 46) Target 343 BOSH! Shaun Marsh hits a BIG SIX off Wood over midwicket to start the new over. Real stand and deliver stuff. What a partnership this has been, now worth 87 in 65 balls. The quick fights back well but can’t close off the over, spraying a legside wide. Will Marsh take advantage of the extra delivery? He won’t, misjudging a slower ball that hits him in the stomach. They take a leg bye. Oh, ignore me: there’s one more ball to come and Agar bashes it through the gap at cover for four! Big over, 14 off it to leave 84 from 48. Gosh!
41st over: Australia 245-5 (Marsh 108, Agar 41) Target 343 I still get the feeling all England need is one wicket to close this off as a serious contest, the visitors requiring nearly 11 an over. Rashid is back, who has bowled just the four overs. He’s right on the money, preventing either player freeing the arms and find the rope. That is until the final ball of the over, Plunkett allowing Agar’s cut to go through his legs! So, it should have been five from the over instead it is nine. Hmmm. 98 from 54 the new equation.
40th over: Australia 236-5 (Marsh 107, Agar 35) Target 343 Important over from Plunkett here, who has been very good today. Plenty going on, Agar pulling four to fine leg but only after swinging and missing twice. A wide in there as well. A blockhole delivery to finish, meaning just six came from it. Advantage England. Ten to go.
39th over: Australia 230-5 (Marsh 104, Agar 31) Target 343 Joe Root? for the 39th? Sure, why not. It has not worked though, Agar hitting back to back boundaries to finish the over and keep Australia very much alive! They went through cover then smaaaashed past midwicket. Two runs came from the first four deliveries, to be fair, but they picked up the two fours they need per over, or thereabouts. 11 off it.
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Shaun Marsh brings up his fourth ODI century!
38th over: Australia 219-5 (Marsh 102, Agar 23) Target 343 Marsh to 97... Shaun Marsh to 100! Consecutive boundaries off Plunkett to start his new over. The stroke to 100 is a wooooonderful clip. It took 95 balls to raise his ton, striking 10 fours and a six. For a man who has routinely found himself out of the Australian white-ball teams, he’s making a bit of a statement here. Nice applause from the Glamorgan crowd - he does play for them after all. Ten from the over all told, so he’s on the rate required as well.
37th over: Australia 209-5 (Marsh 93, Agar 22) Target 343 Carbon copy of the over before, in that there was a boundary early in the over - Marsh clipping Moeen beautifully - but only three other singles. They need to break it open asap. Moeen finishes with 10-0-47-2 with Short and Maxwell’s wickets. Having a good series.
36th over: Australia 202-5 (Marsh 88, Agar 20) Target 343 Shot! Willey gives Agar just enough room to play a fabulous cut to the boundary. He’s a lovely player to watch. Only three other singles to go with it though, so the over ends up hindering the overall task. Australia’s 200 did come up in the over, though. So there’s that.
“Am I alone in experiencing the slightly queasy sensation of having over indulged in the multiple sporting events today?” asks Brian Withington. “Have even switched off US Open App until later this evening to reduce sensory overload. Please can you guide us through a calming denouement in Cardiff without any of the usual indigestible morsels?”
Well, I don’t think I’m spoiling the surprise by saying that I’ve filed a piece on watching the Socceroos from the press box earlier today (sort of), so I might not be the best person to wean you off. Bonkers morning, wasn’t it? I didn’t watch a minute of (my) footy, Hawthorn smashing last year’s grand finalists, Adelaide, by ten goals at the ‘G.
35th over: Australia 195-5 (Marsh 87, Agar 14) Target 343 Moeen lofted over extra cover for four by Agar. Nice swing of the willow. Couple of singles and a few dots. Required rate about to click over to 10RPO. Who takes ownership over turning up the volume? Maybe Marsh? He looks spent between the wickets but still striking well.
“Good evening Adam, from sunny Piedmont,” emails Finbar Anslow. “As a Somerset fan I’m getting a little worried here, Mr Paine and co couldn’t call up Matt Renshaw could they?” In short: they probably should, but they won’t. Rest easy.
34th over: Australia 189-5 (Marsh 86, Agar 9) Target 343 Willey gets another go but doesn’t concern either of the left-handers. Agar is cutting then pushing; Marsh glancing to fine leg for a few then driving straight. There’s a legside wide in there too. Ooh, nearly a run out to finish. Agar called Marsh through running to the danger end, he would have been out had Roy hit. Nine from it as they have a drink. 154 needed from 16, so that’s a required rate of 9.62 to the finish line. Yeah, wouldn’t have thought so.
33rd over: Australia 180-5 (Marsh 82, Agar 5) Target 343 Five singles from the Moeen over, most of which went down the ground. Should help Agar get his eye in. “If they are thinking about next year already and the World Cup,” says Adam Gilchrist on TMS, “then I really think they need to get Alex Carey into this team.” Very interesting.
32nd over: Australia 175-5 (Marsh 80, Agar 2) Target 343 Bouncer from Wood to Agar, lucky not to be given as a wide. More short stuff at Agar, who is only able to turn the strike over from the final ball of the over with a push to cover. Gee, watching that back, he would have been run out had the throw been on target from Bairstow at the end Marsh was running to.
31st over: Australia 174-5 (Marsh 80, Agar 1) Target 343 Shot! Marsh drives wonderfully off the back foot through cover, hit too well for the sweeper. He get another boundary to finish the Moeen over, albeit off an edge though slip but there isn’t a fielder there at this stage of the innings. On reflection, more a deflection than an edge. Deserves a ton. I’m now going to change Marsh’s score to what it says on the board at the ground.
WICKET! Maxwell c Willey b Moeen 31 (Australia 164-5)
Fantastic bowling from Moeen Ali, enticing Maxwell to clear mid-off. Instead, he hacks it to long-on where Willey takes a straightforward chance. They shut him down perfectly at the moment he looked like really unleashing. Moeen, the main bowler in that plan, has conceded just 19 runs in 6.1 overs without going for a boundary. Well earned
30th over: Australia 164-4 (Marsh 73, Maxwell 31) Target 343 Wood to Maxwell. Michael Vaughan reckons that he might the long-handle now but he can’t early on, denied by a slower one. Next chance he gets, the right-hander can’t beat mid-on with a nicely struck drive. He misses a clip as well, the second time he’s raced through for a leg bye in the over. Credit to the England quick for his variety here. Last ball, short to Marsh who pulls hard but only as far as Root as midwicket. Good contest, this. One that the hosts have pushed ahead in again over the last four overs. Just three leg byes, so a maiden, technically. We can debate whether it should be.
29th over: Australia 161-4 (Marsh 73, Maxwell 31) Target 343 Marsh is beaten by Moeen and Buttler takes the bails, the appeal just enthusiastic enough to send it upstairs. But his foot is down, no worries there. Beats him later in the over when trying to sweep as well. Just the Maxwell single to begin, nothing further.
28th over: Australia 160-4 (Marsh 73, Maxwell 30) Target 343 Right, so Buttler keeps swinging the changes, Mark Wood back for a second stint. Once again, the pair are happy enough to accumulate in singles, five of them. The 50 partnership is up, stitching that together in 43 balls. There’s an inconsistency between various scorecards on what Marsh is on at the moment but I’ll stick with what I have for now.
27th over: Australia 155-4 (Marsh 71, Maxwell 27) Target 343 That worked well. Moeen brought back and went for just four singles, breaking up the pattern of boundaries for his captain.
Get in! @AdilRashid03 gets a huge wicket!
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 16, 2018
Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/jfzeO4Xoil#ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/LSPSeGCtyC
26th over: Australia 151-4 (Marsh 68, Maxwell 26) Target 343 Right, firstly, apologies for having Maxwell listed as Finch in the brackets until the last over; my bad. Fixed now. Secondly, another good over, the fourth in a row where a boundary was struck. It’s through the cordon, so less convincing than the previous Maxwell fours so far, but it is a calculated risk with nobody back there. 26 from 21 he is as the Mexican Wave begins around Sophia Gardens.
25th over: Australia 144-4 (Marsh 66, Maxwell 21) Target 343 Heeeeere comes the Big Show. But not as you might imagine with me calling him that. He gets all of the 12 runs made in the over, making 31 in the last three. The right-hander bookends the set with boundaries, smashing Rashid through midwicket with authority and using his feet to drive through cover through the air. Lovely timing. Between times, a couple of hard-run twos. He’s into the 20s. I reckon, touch wood, he’s on.
24th over: Australia 132-4 (Marsh 66, Maxwell 9) Target 343 Another big over in the context of a chase that is yet to get rocking and rolling, nine from it with a couple of boundaries. Maxwell nailed a pull shot from a short Plunkett delivery that didn’t get up - a bit of Ricky Ponting to that one. Marsh finishes with a slap past point into the gap, keeping that required rate at eight an over. Nothing overly daunting about that for Maxwell, that’s for sure. If Marsh can just keep going, well, who knows.
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23rd over: Australia 123-4 (Marsh 62, Maxwell 4) Target 343 Australia’s best over so far, taking ten off it. Marsh drove Rashid lavishly through cover to begin then punched three more to the same part of the field. Singles exchanged through the rest of the set.
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22nd over: Australia 113-4 (Marsh 53, Maxwell 3) Target 343 Swing and a miss! Maxwell picks the one that really bounces off a length and he’s beaten. Plunkett is right on the mark to the Victorian until the final delivery, which he’s able to clip behind square for a couple.
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21st over: Australia 111-4 (Marsh 53, Maxwell 1) Target 343 It wasn’t really much of a sweep on reflection, just trying to turn it around the corner. Maxwell is the new man, who has a ball to see off and he does with a single down the ground. Before Finch fell, Marsh brought up his 50 with a wallop over midwicket.
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WICKET! Finch lbw b Rashid 0 (Australia 110-4)
Aaron Finch was shuffled down to number five in order to play against the spinners but it has backfired! The Victorian got down low to sweep the legspinner but he misses the ball. No review required there. Out for a duck! Australia in strife.
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20th over: Australia 103-3 (Marsh 46, Finch 0) Target 343 Welcome to The Real Quiz. Aaron Finch averaged 92 against England earlier this year, albeit as an opener. He’s the one Australian (well, other than Maxwell) who can legitimately chase down a score like this. First ball, he gets the board ticked over by four via the leg byes. Poor ball first up to the Aussie vice-captain. Much better at the end, beating him with a beauty! They need exactly eight an over to win from here.
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WICKET! Stoinis b Plunkett 9 (Australia 99-3)
Chops on! Straight into his middle stump. The end of an unconvincing stay for the big right-hander. Buttler, the stand-in skipper, rewarded for swinging the changes.
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19th over: Australia 99-2 (Marsh 46, Stoinis 9) Target 343 Right, so it is Rashid for the first time today. Wrong’un to begin, Marsh getting it down the ground, then Stoinis miscues through the air over cover for a couple. Good early questions. Later, he brings Marsh forward with another wrong’un then a leg break. Seven from the over but not a lot wrong with it.
18th over: Australia 92-2 (Marsh 43, Stoinis 6) Target 343 That was Shaun Marsh’s first six in ODIs in 625 balls (Sep 2013 his most recent) says Andy Zaltzman. He keeps the strike with a single down the ground.
“Off the top of the collective OBO head (OBOnce), can anyone think of a better ODI bowler with a worse average than Moeen? (Currently 64 wickets at 47.45),” asks Tom Bowtell. “I guess with scoring rates rocketing, 47.45 is the new 33.17.”
17.4 overs: Australia 91-2 (Marsh 42, Stoinis 6) Target 343 Marsh is an experienced player and would know that it isn’t sustainable to let the game drift away from Joe Root’s bowling. He steps down and slaps the part-timer over long-on for a big six. Not quite as big as the time Chris Cairns lobbed one into the river here against Australia in the 1999 World Cup. They are going to change the ball though, so it is a premature drinks break with two balls to come in the over.
17th over: Australia 84-2 (Marsh 36, Stoinis 5) Target 343 Moeen landing right where he needs to keep Stoinis quiet early on, the right-hander happy to eventually push one to long-on, Marsh picks out the same fielder to long-off after using his feet. As Tuffers notes on the radio, the plan here will be to push through as many quick and frugal overs as they can from the offies before unleashing the wristspin of Adil Rashid. Leg slip comes in for the last couple of balls, Big Marcus deciding to play along the carpet to deep backward square. Only three from it.
16th over: Australia 81-2 (Marsh 35, Stoinis 3) Target 343 Right, here comes the rebuild. Nothing urgent about the singles taken around the sweepers here. Only three of them though, Marsh drawn forward in defence from the last couple. The last of those, TMS tell me, was a little leg-cutter from Root.
15th over: Australia 78-2 (Marsh 34, Stoinis 1) Target 343 One ball for Stonis to see from Moeen, over the wicket it comes and the huge right-hander plays a lap well enough to squeeze a single to get off the mark. The end of the successful over. Earlier in it, Jonny Bairstow left the field, limping around the rope after making a diving stop at long-on. We’ll keep an eye on that one.
WICKET! Short c Root b Moeen 21 (Australia 77-2)
Round the wicket from Moeen, Short edges a sharp chance to Root at first slip from the crease. His debut hand is over with spin doing the trick. “They have put a real squeeze on them,” Jimmy Anderson says on radio of the tweakers. Sure have. The hosts on top.
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14th over: Australia 74-1 (Short 21, Marsh 31) Target 343 Joey Root, have a trundle. Just as he did at The Oval, the Test captain is on to try and bleed a couple of quick overs out of the Australian innings. He’s done in perfectly, racing through giving up just three. Ten singles from three overs of England spin so far, Andy Zaltzman says on TMS.
13th over: Australia 71-1 (Short 20, Marsh 29) Target 343 Moeen wins an error from Marsh, another nearly/kinda drop at midwicket? Tom Curran is on from Willey and it is had to tell if it carried. Either way, the West Australian survives. Four singles to the sweepers picked up along the way. Short looking more comfortable now as well.
12th over: Australia 67-1 (Short 18, Marsh 27) Target 343 Big shout from Plunkett for leg before, Marsh the man on strike. It is turned down and after Wood’s early referral there is no option to take a second look. Was probably pitching outside leg in any case. Yet more runs through midwicket, a pair of twos from Marsh, keeps the board ticking. He was lucky the first of those wasn’t four, stopped only by a Wood dive on the rope.
11th over: Australia 63-1 (Short 18, Marsh 23) Target 343 Moeen is on one over after we expected, bouncing away from us at the broadcast end. Misfield at extra cover first ball, Roy not picking up cleanly at extra cover, so Marsh walks one. They take two other singles, both to the sweeper on the off-side. Nice and watchful. They will know it is vital that they aren’t opened up by spin again as they were midweek at The Oval.
10th over: Australia 60-1 (Short 17, Marsh 21) Target 343 Liam Plunkett on for the final over of the power play and he immediately feeds Short on the pads, who glances a four to fine leg. He repeats the dose two balls later! They don’t want Short to free his hands, Jimmy Anderson says on TMS, but they are giving up far too many away on the pads. It continues: Short again gets a run past square leg for one and Marsh three to backward square leg to finish the power play. 12 taken from the very poor over.
9th over: Australia 48-1 (Short 8, Marsh 18) Target 343 Short starts the new over with another single off the hip. I don’t believe he has scored a run anywhere but that corner of the ground so far in this innings. Willey has fed them there, to be fair. Some strike rotation in the second half of the over, runs behind both square leg and point. Short does score in the ‘V’ for the first time to finish, via a pushed single to extra cover.
8th over: Australia 43-1 (Short 6, Marsh 15) Target 343 Naked cyclists! Now I have your attention! Yep, a crew of nude people on bikes just rolled behind the scoreboard. It is a better over from Wood on the whole until he drops short to Marsh to finish, who has more than enough time to rock back and pull his second four of the day.
7th over: Australia 38-1 (Short 6, Marsh 11) Target 343 That is a nearly another chance at midwicket. Marsh’s clip didn’t quite make it to Bairstow. He’s far more convincing through the posh side cutting the next Willey delivery to the point rope. A couple more singles off the legs; too many of those so far. Marsh keeps the strike with a push to mid-off.
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6th over: Australia 31-1 (Short 5, Marsh 5) Target 343 Marsh grabs one fine and Short a couple down in that direction to finish. Between times, Wood has the junior of the two men defending. It won’t be long until he tries to pop someone on the moon.
5th over: Australia 28-1 (Short 3, Marsh 4) Target 343 Marsh very happy to defend Willey here until the chance arrives to drive, which is does expertly through cover for three. Short has a go! Swing/miss. This is what he does. Wait till he gets going, it’s brilliant. Can’t get off strike for the remainder of this set, mind.
TMS tells me that they are going to go back onto the field and play not at St Lucia after the two-hour delay. Hmmm.
4th over: Australia 25-1 (Short 3, Marsh 1) Target 343 Shaun Marsh has walked out at number three as he did in the series opener. He’s forced by Wood to play throughout the rest of the successul over, using a bit of width from the final delivery to get off the mark behind point.
Truth told, the major focus of the press box right now is what is happening in St Lucia. As I understand it: Sri Lanka walked out to play, were advised that they were going to be docked five points and walked off again. Blimey. Watch this space.
WICKET! Head c Hales b Wood 19 (Australia 24-1)
Scrap that, Head is gone! Gives a a catch to midwicket. Nothing shot, taken low by Hales to his right. It is referred upstairs to mak sure it carried and it did. Wood into the book.
3rd over: Australia 20-0 (Head 15, Short 3) Target 343 Short misses a ball on his hip from Wood but gets him a leg bye. Better to Head than he was in his previous set but the left-hander is confident on the front foot. Tucks a single fine to keep the strike.
2nd over: Australia 18-0 (Head 14, Short 3) Target 343 Earlier in the over it was Wood to Short, facing his first ball in ODI cricket. He sent down a wide down the legside to begin then a couple off the hip. He’s away. “What exciting times,” says Adam Gilchrist on TMS about the cap presentation before play. “He was quiet at the best of times but particularly nervous this morning.” Takes another single down that way too. So, Australia into double figures all in that general direction. Head changes that up lifting over the cordon for four more! Clever cricket, I always like an uppercut. As you already know by now, England wasted their review from the last ball.
NOT OUT! Great decision from Alex Wharf the man on debut. Pitching outside leg.
HAS MARK WOOD TRAPPED HEAD? Turned down but they are going upstairs.
1st over: Australia 8-0 (Head 8, Short 0) Target 343 Easy work for Head, clipping off his thigh for four first ball. With fine leg up, he can’t bowl there. That’s better, beats him next ball with a beaut of an outswinger. The left-armer found the South Australian’s edge early on at The Oval so he should be confident early on here. Urgh, he gives Head a second easy boundary from a misdirected delivery down the legside that he’s able to get a little tickle on. Good batting. Willey, not so much.
Stats, stats, stats. From a very handy briefing via the very clever people at CricViz that has just dropped into my inbox.
- Since the last World Cup, Eoin Morgan’s team have won 72% of matches when chasing, but only 56% of matches when batting first.
- 58% of Roy’s runs today have come through the off-side, the most (min 10 balls faced) since October 2016.
- Jason Roy played just 9% false shots today - that’s the lowest figure for any of his centuries. His century earlier this year at Melbourne saw 21% false shots.
- England’s 71 runs in the first ten overs was their second highest Powerplay score ever against Australia.
- Jos Buttler has now scored 105 runs with the scoop shot in ODIs. That’s the most by anyone in the history of the game.
Righto. The players are back on field Travis Head is alongside D’Arcy Short, the man on debut. David Willey has the ball in his hand. PLAY!
Thanks, Tim. Mighty effort from you with the much longer session than expected due to the rain. Isn’t Jos good at cricket? Plenty of oooohing and aaaahing in the press box as he did his thing. To adding a couple of extra stats to what Tim has noted below, that was the best ever ODI score at this ground, and if Australia win from here it’ll be their highest successful chase. The re-start is about ten minutes away so I’m going to grab a cup of tea. I suggest you do the same before dropping me a line (or a tweet).
England finish with 342 – and a record
50th over: England 342-8 (Buttler 91, Rashid 0) Tye bowls a near-wide, which is also short, and Buttler does phenomenally well to toe-end a cut for four. Last ball, he shovel-hooks for four more into the gap at long leg. Shame there wasn’t time for a hundred, but that is a sparkling captain’s innings. And it’s also England’s highest-ever one-day score against Australia.
England are firm favourites, but there are plenty of runs in this pitch and the weather is unlikely to get in Australia’s way. Thanks for your company and correspondence, combination sports and all, and it’ll be Adam Collins to see you through.
Wicket! Plunkett run out 1 (England 332-8)
Plunkett sacrifices himself to get Buttler back on strike. That’s what old pros are for. Three balls to go.
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49th over: England 329-7 (Buttler 80, Plunkett 0) Willey finds his range with a tennis shot past long-off, then gets lucky with a top edge over Paine’s head. And then he perishes. But that gives the strike to Buttler, who cashes in with a cracking four through midwicket.
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Wicket! Willey c & b K Richardson 11 (England 325-7)
A slower ball does for Willey, just as he was getting going. He skies it and Kane Richardson takes a good catch off his own bowling.
48th over: England 316-6 (Buttler 75, Willey 3) Buttler’s average with the scoop shot (or ramp) is 105, and his strike rate 223. He tries it again, the ball follows him, so he adjusts and dabs to backward point. There’s only a single in it, but that’s a stroke of genius. Australia are winning the final overs, though.
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47th over: England 310-6 (Buttler 71, Willey 3) Richardson K rejoins Richardson J in the attack and keeps it tightish, though he gets away with a near-beamer which Willey does well to squirt down to third man.
An email lands from Geoff, who has just the one name, like Stormzy. “If John Starbuck is correct in his suggestion that donning combinations would improve almost any sport,” he wonders, “why has it done so little for baseball?”
This is the first time in ODI history that each of the first five wickets in an innings have added at least fifty runs
— Benedict Bermange (@Benedict_B) June 16, 2018
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46th over: England 304-6 (Buttler 68, Willey 1) Richardson snaffles Moeen and almost gets Buttler too, as Tye just fails to dive forward at fine leg and swallow a top-edged swish. After that fabulous little flurry, Buttler has gone back to scoring at only a run a ball.
Wicket! Ali c Agar b J Richardson 8 (England 300-6)
Moeen swings it languidly to deep square, where Agar claims a sharp low catch. Well, Moeen said he wasn’t going to change his ways, and he hasn’t.
45th over: England 300-5 (Buttler 66, Ali 8) Tye keeps England just about in check.
And John Starbuck picks up on Andrew Benton’s musings (42nd over). “Combination sports are best when the contrast is largest, as in very fast/very slow, so ice-hockey + crown green bowls, or table-tennis/croquet. Or you could improve almost any sport by insisting the players wear combinations.”
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44th over: England 295-5 (Buttler 64, Ali 5) Jhye Richardson gets three balls past Buttler’s bat, which is quite an achievement. And we even have some blue sky to encourage the Aussies.
“Footage of the last two overs should be shown to teach young batters how to move through the gears,” says Nigel Phillips, quoting me just now. “Cricket should be shown on free-to-view TV to show young people what it is.” Amen to that.
43rd over: England 293-5 (Buttler 63, Ali 4) Moeen for Billings is actually an improvement at this stage, as Moeen shows by swatting his first ball over midwicket for four. Nonchalant.
Wicket! Billings b Tye 11 (England 289-5)
Billings drags one on, allowing Bumble to say “It’s a Welsh drag-on.” Billings remains out of form and out of luck, but he played his part – the 50 partnership had just come up, making this the first time in ODI history that the first five wickets have all yielded 50.
42nd over: England 281-4 (Buttler 57, Billings 10) Short continues, in a further sign of Tim Paine’s guts. Buttler plays an off drive that is more of a hockey shot, lovely fast hands. He has made 24 off his last eight balls. As Ed Smith said, he has unique abilities.
A thought from Andrew Benton. “What with all these international sports going on at the mo – football, cricket, rugby, golf, Wimbledon soon – in their own exclusive little sporty bubbles, I yearn for some crossover to break up the monotony, chess-boxing style. How about cricket-darts?”
41st over: England 273-4 (Buttler 52, Billings 7) Yes! Buttler goes crazy, but craftily. Jhye Richardson returns, bearing pace, which helps. First ball: a cracker past cover for four. Second: the finest ramp you’ve ever seen, for six over long stop (dropped by the man in the black hoodie). Third: another, slightly coarser ramp for six more. Fourth: a spanking cut for two. That’s fifty for Buttler, off 38 balls. Footage of the last two overs should be shown to teach young batters how to move through the gears.
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40th over: England 253-4 (Buttler 33, Billings 6) Another over for Short, another four runs. With ten overs to go, England are surely about to go for it.
39th over: England 249-4 (Buttler 32, Billings 5) Another decent over from Agar. Buttler needs some fireworks, and he will probably have to light them himself.
In other news, the mighty Iceland are being held to a draw by the plucky Argentines.
38th over: England 245-4 (Buttler 29, Billings 4) Emboldened by his own brilliance, Paine decides to risk another over from D’Arcy Short. He concedes only four, so the risk pays off. Sam Billings, given another chance by Eoin Morgan’s back spasm, needs to make use of it: there’s time for a quick 40.
37th over: England 241-4 (Buttler 28, Billings 1) A tidy over from Agar, who has been a bit better than figures of 8-0-48-0 might suggest.
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36th over: England 239-4 (Buttler 27, Billings 0) Roy plays the first ball after the break for two behind point, and the next for four through wide mid-off. Among other strengths, he has been quite unperturbed by all these interruptions – but then Tye deceives him with an off-cutter. Good comeback from Tye to end an outstanding innings from Roy. He started off playing second fiddle, then stormed the podium.
Wicket!! Roy c Paine b Tye 120 (England 239-4)
Well that’s come out of nowhere. Tye finds Roy’s inside edge, and the lip-swollen Paine takes a superb catch, somewhere to the left of his left ankle. He’s got some character, this guy. The end of a very fine innings.
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Back on!
Paine’s lip looks bad, but he’s battling on. Goodness knows who the vice-captain would be. At least the rain has abated.
Off again!
Mid-36th over: England 233-3 (Roy 114, Buttler 27) Roy thumps a straight drive for four off the returning Tye. Poor old Paine cops one in the face, and then the drizzle returns. The pain, for Paine, comes mainly in the rain.
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A freak injury
Tim Paine, trying to stop a slower ball from Tye down the leg side, is hit in the face as the ball suddenly pops up at him. He seems to have a nasty cut.
35th over: England 228-3 (Roy 109, Buttler 27) Seeing two men at backward point, Roy decides it would be fun to bisect them with a reverse sweep.
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34th over: England 219-3 (Roy 102, Buttler 26) Stoinis’s last over, and England help themselves from the buffet, with a couple of twos and a drop-kick for four by Buttler off the last ball. The Aussies have been able to take one wicket but never two in quick succession, and every England batsman has reached 20.
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Hundred!
33rd over: England 209-3 (Roy 101, Buttler 17) That little experiment was Short-lived. Agar returns, bowling a full length, almost yorkers, so Roy props forward, to pick up a hard-run two and a well-deserved hundred. He’s been so measured.
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32nd over: England 203-3 (Roy 97, Buttler 15) Stoinis continues, tries a bouncer, and watches it disappear over midwicket as Roy plays that imperious pull of his. A force for two by Buttler brings up the 200 off 190 balls. After flirting with the Aussies, the barometer has decided to stay with England for now.
31st over: England 194-3 (Roy 92, Buttler 11) Short is worth a shot, if only because these two batsmen have apparently never faced a left-arm wristie in 50-over cricket. Buttler’s not bothered, though: he die some milking and then strokes a glorious off drive for four. Ten off the over.
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They're back on
And D’Arcy Short, who should be still glowing from that catch, is coming on to bowl. He’s a left-arm wrist-spinner.
Something to read
A resumption is expected around 2.15pm, or 20 minutes’ time.
One of the oddities of this England side is that they’ve dispensed with all the senior citizens from the Test team – Cook, Broad and Anderson – while getting many a wicket out of the oldest flinger in town, Liam Plunkett. He was talking to the press yesterday, prompting Vic Marks to draw parallels with the Rolling Stones.
if you’d rather hear about Argentina v Iceland, go here for Rob Smyth’s MBM. I confess to video envy seeing that little clip of the Iceland fans practising the synchronised thunderclap. It knocks the Mexican wave into a cocked sombrero.
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Something to do
The break is expected to be brief, again. In the meantime, do sign up for The Spin, one of the oldest and best cricket newsletters. It has a rotating cast, much like the spin in the England Test team, but usually more penetrating.
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Rain again
30th over: England 184-3 (Roy 91, Buttler 2) Buttler, missing a pull, takes one from Stoinis on the right thigh, then plays a lovely easy swat for a single. And they’re off again, with the barometer just swinging towards Australia: only 24-1 off the last five overs.
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29th over: England 182-3 (Roy 90, Buttler 1) Buttler, so good in the Test series against Pakistan, gets off the mark with a comfy tuck to square leg, and Tye finally keeps it tight. The Aussies have just crept back into this, but the rain should help England, by ruling out reverse swing.
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28th over: England 179-3 (Roy 88, Buttler 0) So Root, like Bairstow, offered only a cameo. And here’s Jos Buttler, taking Eoin Morgan’s place at No 5 as well as captain, which gives him time to do some damage, weather permitting - the mizzle has returned.
Wicket! Root c Short b Stoinis 22 (England 179-3)
Root, in silky touch, suddenly pops a pull to deep square, where D’Arcy Short takes a lovely low catch. Caught Short indeed.
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27th over: England 177-2 (Roy 87, Root 21) You don’t see many threes at Sophia Gardens, but Root gets one with an elegant push past extra cover. This partnership is already 64, off 52 balls: the stage is set for something spectacular.
Here’s Brian Withington again. “Sadly I don’t know the answer to David Tripp’s 14th over question about the potential uniqueness of concurrent Australian rugby, cricket and football internationals.” Ah. “However, if the cricket team (or Cardiff weather) can’t come to the rescue then I will stick my neck out and suggest it may well be the first time a nation has played and lost all three.”
26th over: England 170-2 (Roy 84, Root 17) Tye tries one of his surely-not-that-many variations, the bouncer, and Roy smacks him for six to the long square boundary.
In view of the rain, lunch is going to be reduced to 35 minutes. That should give everyone time to get half-way up the queue for the bar.
25th over: England 158-2 (Roy 75, Root 16) Roy gets a bouncer from Kane Richardson and plays a tennis smash, with fast hands, which deserves more than a single. The unrelated Richardsons have done pretty well (2 for 65 off 11 overs). The rest have 0 for 93 off 14.
24th over: England 154-2 (Roy 71, Root 15) Roy just carries on where he left off, punching Tye past mid-off for four.
Rain stops!
Play will resume at five past. The poor old Aussies just had time to see their footballers and rugby players lose, so a nation’s honour is in their hands.
Brian Withington takes advantage of the rain to run with a ball from the 20th over. “If Bairstow is lead guitar to Jason Roy’s rhythm, who plays drums and bass in this England beat combo? Reminds me of the old (Dave Allen?) joke about the drummer whose rhythm was so good that the Pope made him an honorary Catholic.”
This is like an exam in which I’ve finally spotted a question I can answer. Bass: Hales – not the most demanding role. Drums: Buttler – holds it all together, gets the girl.
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Rain stops play (England 149-2)
It has become quite hard to see, so Marais Erasmus finally accepts that it’s time to wave the players off. A chance for the Aussies to watch their football brethren try and hold out for a point against the mighty France, but before they can change the channel, Paul Pogba scores.
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23rd over: England 147-2 (Roy 65, Root 14) Roy gets away with a snick off Jhye Richardson which would have been a dolly to first slip, had there been one. Australia are not going to win this by being defensive.
Yet another question, this time from Mahendra. “Watching cricket & football simultaneously, why is it that we don’t see Waughs, Clarkes, Taylors, Smiths in football and vice versa. Are those games mutually exclusive to some families down under?” Is the OBO turning into Notes & Queries?
22nd over: England 137-2 (Roy 59, Root 10) Roy clubs Stoinis for six to cow corner, his first of the day. “Plenty going on in this city,” says Mike Atherton. “The Stones were here last night.” It’s uncanny the way the #NoFilter tour has followed the cricket. But has anyone fallen for the tongue-logo Gray Nicolls bat, retailing at £999?
Next up in football’s refereeing aids: hot-spot and snickometer.
— Richard Williams (@rwilliams1947) June 16, 2018
21st over: England 129-2 (Roy 52, Root 9) Root gets four off Jhye Richardson with that square push of his. Kumar Sangakkara, on commentary, calls Root “the complete batsman”. Takes one to know one.
20th over: England 124-2 (Roy 51, Root 5) Roy pulls Stoinis for four, yet again, and takes a single to reach fifty. He’s been composed and adaptable, playing rhythm guitar while Bairstow took the lead, then becoming more assertive.
And the next question comes from Pat McGinley. “Can batting side decide *not* to take drinks as it is getting silly now... or are we particularly inept after drinks?”
19th over: England 117-2 (Roy 45, Root 4) Jhye Richardson is back, reintroducing himself with an 88mph bouncer, which Roy wisely decides not to play, and then castling Hales, possibly off the inside edge. What a good bowling change by Paine. Joe Root gets off the mark with a spring-heeled glance for four, using the pace.
In other news, Australia have gone one down to France at the World Cup, thanks to a penalty awarded by the VAR. And equalised through another pen!
Wicket! Hales b J Richardson 26 (England 113-2)
Jhye Richardson brings one back at pace and Hales can’t cope at all. Game on?
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18th over: England 112-1 (Roy 44, Hales 26) Roy decides Tye is slow enough to be treated like an offspinner, and mows him over midwicket for four. Hales misses one pull, then nails another as the drizzle turns to a mizzle. Cricket, bloody hell.
And that’s drinks, with England in charge.
John Starbuck is with us, sending an email entitled Beards. “England still have a highly hirsute bowling attack, and overall six and two halves (Root and Hales), which makes their line-up more macho than Australia’s. Will it be enough?”
17th over: England 103-1 (Roy 39, Hales 22) Agar restores order, no mean feat as the drizzle is back.
16th over: England 101-1 (Roy 38, Hales 21) Holy moly, a boundary. Andrew Tye comes on and Hales gets four through the vacant slips with something between an edge and a squirt. With the spell broken, Roy plays a much better shot for four, through mid-off, and the hundred comes up off 96 balls. Time for some of Tye’s 22 variations, which may be the worst bit of variation hype since Shane Warne’s heyday.
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15th over: England 90-1 (Roy 33, Hales 15) Agar continues and so do the singles. The scorecard, to paraphrase Julian Barnes on exclamation marks, looks like an avenue of poplars.
14th over: England 86-1 (Roy 31, Hales 13) Stoinis keeps England honest, and even a bouncer is only pulled for one. Hales and Roy, who used to be England’s blasters, are going about half as fast as Bairstow.
David Tripp has a question for you. “Is this the first instance of a country having its cricket, rugby and football teams all playing simultaneously, even starting the matches at the same time?” That will take some looking up.
13th over: England 83-1 (Roy 29, Hales 12) At the moment, it’s just one unremarkable single after another: cricket is turning into Tinder.
12th over: England 77-1 (Roy 26, Hales 9) Stoinis surprises Hales, beating him with some sudden bounce, which will interest Liam Plunkett. Maybe that’s why Paine is standing back.
#FRAAUS #ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/kSwIZk48Ok
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) June 16, 2018
11th over: England 75-1 (Roy 25, Hales 8) Agar returns, now that he can have some protection, and concedes only singles.
“Morning Tim.” Morning Brian Withington. “Obscene amount of sport to consume today. TV and various devices are already taking a hammering, especially as the laptop is in serious Excel spreadsheet mode (sadly). Don’t quite know how I will cope when rugby and US Open also clash with cricket and football. Need a couple of channels (or OBO?) plugged straight into cerebral cortex. No need to ask which body part the emails are sourced from?”
I’m happy to say I don’t get that one.
“YJB’s departure at least means I can do a bit more number crunching – quite useful for blocking out Bumble’s ‘hilarious’ spectator participation interviews.”
10th over: England 71-1 (Roy 23, Hales 6) Stoinis continues and normal service is resumed as Hales cuts for four. “Way too wide!” reckons Ricky Ponting. That’s the end of the powerplay, with England well on top, but Australia cheerier than they were ten minutes ago.
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9th over: England 63-1 (Roy 21, Hales 0) So Bairstow, who split up the Roy-Hales axis, now reunites them. And that’s a very good over from Kane Richardson, conceding only one on top of taking the big wicket.
Here’s Phil Sawyer. “I misread lacerated big toe as macerated and wondered why sprinkling sugar on it would keep Stanlake out. Then I read it properly and started limping about the place in sympathy. The mind fair boggles as to how one goes about lacerating a big toe, but I think I can live without finding out through practical experiment.” Phil, full marks for empathy, but you do realise this will damage your chances of reaching high office?
Wicket!!! Bairstow c Paine b K Richardson 42 (England 63-1)
Nooooooo! Kane Richardson changes ends and bowls a slower ball, Bairstow makes room, and his cut just produces a tame nick, neatly scooped off the floor by Paine. That’s Bairstow’s second cameo in a row, when he should be getting double hundreds.
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8th over: England 62-0 (Roy 20, Bairstow 42) Paine tries Marcus Stoinis’s military medium, but doesn’t stand up to the stumps, as Sarah Taylor surely would. Bairstow carries on enjoying himself with a late cut for four. He has 42 off 23 balls, nine of which have gone to the rope (eight fours, one six). If he can stay in, records will fall.
7th over: England 55-0 (Roy 18, Bairstow 37) Tim Paine turns to spin, ahead of schedule, in the shape of Ashton Agar’s slow left-arm. It doesn’t stem the flow as Roy lofts him over extra cover and Bairstow plays a force for four and a cow-shot for four more. That’s 34 off two overs. C’mon Aussies, c’mon.
Richard Neal sends a email from Berlin, politely asking for the TMS link on YouTube. A bit above my pay grade, but I hope this works.
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6th over: England 40-0 (Roy 11, Bairstow 29) Stung by my last remark, Roy plays his shot of the morning, a crisply timed off shove for four. Then Richardson K bowls the first juicy half-volley of the day, and Bairstow plays a golf-swing over mid-off for six. Next ball, he plays the same shot, a touch later, for four over extra cover; then when Richardson goes straighter, Bairstow clips him for four more, and that’s 19 off the over. What a star he is in this mood. Hands up if you’d like to see him opening for the Test team.
5th over: England 21-0 (Roy 6, Bairstow 15) Bairstow, beaten by the nip-backer from Richardson J, responds with a crunching off-drive for four, before being beaten again by a bouncer. He has 15 off 14 balls, Roy 6 off 16, so it’s modern one-day cricket at one end and the 1970s at the other.
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4th over: England 17-0 (Roy 6, Bairstow 11) Bairstow takes a quick single and Glenn Maxwell, half-stopping it, hurts his shoulder. Hope that’s nothing serious. Kane Richardson keeps it tight, Roy misses another pull, and some drizzle falls. It’s all happening.
3rd over: England 16-0 (Roy 6, Bairstow 10) Jhye Richardson apes his namesake and Bairstow eases him to the cover boundary with a silky push, copyright Joe Root. Roy then plays and misses, pulling too early at a slowish bouncer.
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2nd over: England 11-0 (Roy 6, Bairstow 5) Paine lives up to his name by handing the new ball to the other Richardson, Kane (no relation). He avoids the legs but then strays too far the other way, so Roy cuts for four.
1st over: England 7-0 (Roy 2, Bairstow 5) Jhye Richardson takes the new ball and gives Jason Roy a friendly welcome with one on his legs, tucked for a single. Jonny Bairstow gets something similar and whips it for four, to show that despite missing out on a hundred at the Oval, he’s still in glorious touch. All seven runs off the over come on the leg side, so Richardson needs to adjust his radar.
Buttler said he would have batted if he’d won the toss, but Stuart Broad, who is commentating, would “definitely” have bowled. Too early to say who’s right.
The teams
Australia bring in D’Arcy Short, to add some firepower at the top of the order, and sacrifice a bowler in Michael Neser, who can feel doubly miffed because Stanlake’s slot goes to the type-twister Jhye Richardson. England give Morgan’s place to Sam Billings, who has been in ropey form. So Australia’s batting is longer and stronger than on Thursday, and England’s is shallower.
Australia 1 Short, 2 Head, 3 Finch, 4 S Marsh, 5 Stoinis, 6 Paine (c, w), 7 Maxwell, 8 Agar, 9 Tye, 10 J Richardson, 11 K Richardson.
England 1 Roy, 2 Bairstow, 3 Hales, 4 Root, 5 Buttler (w, c), 6 Billings, 7 Ali, 8 Willey, 9 Plunkett, 10 Rashid, 11 Wood.
Toss: Australia win and bowl
Easy decision – clouds overhead now, clearer later, Duckworth-Lewis a possible factor too.
Morgan out!
Eoin Morgan has a back spasm – curse of the OBOer. So Jos Buttler takes over and England, like Australia, will be captained by their keeper.
Rain stops toss
There was some rain forecast for this morning, and it has duly arrived, so the toss is delayed. Can’t quite see the logic there, but that’s cricket for you. Whoever wins the toss may fancy bowling under these black clouds and batting later when the skies are clearer.
Preamble
The Aussies find themselves in an unusual position today: starting an international cricket match and a World Cup at the very same time, 11am BST. If you want to know how many goals Antoine Griezmann can put past the Socceroos, join Paul MacInnes on the MBM. If you’d rather see whether Tim Paine’s patchwork XI can fight back against the might of England, stay here.
Paine had a poor day personally in the first game of the series, but his gang of understudies showed plenty of ticker. They turned a top-order collapse into a just-about-defensible total, thanks to a sensible stand between Glenn Maxwell and Ashton Agar, and they bowled well enough to give England a scare or two. Today, alas, they will probably have to do without Billy Stanlake, who is (a) the world’s fastest beanpole and (b) the current cricketer who sounds most like an American novel. He has a lacerated big toe, a condition that is painful even when you’re only typing it.
England bowled solidly at the Oval but batted shakily, as so often against Australia, and hardly looked like the World Cup favourites. Still, they were a lot better than the fainthearts who flopped against Scotland. And they managed to sharpen up without changing their XI. In Eoin Morgan, they have the best captain in England. The sage of the press box, Scyld Berry, once divided captains into enablers and exemplars, and Morgan is both. Wouldn’t he be much more of an asset to the Test team now than he was when he last appeared in it, six years ago?
Presumably, in the club cricket tradition, Australia win the toss & bat first in today's #EngvAus ODI (11am start) to ensure as many of them as possible can watch #Aus in the #WorldCup (11am kick-off).
— Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E) June 16, 2018
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