Ali Martin’s match report
Easy in the end. But for a brief moment, Aaron Finch did make it interesting. The captain was starved of strike in the first nine overs, but then, with Australia five down after the spin-twins of Moeen and Rashid ripped out the top and middle order, he got really busy. The opener smashed 84 in 41 balls, six times clearing the rope, ably supported by Agar (29) to get the visitors well within striking distance. But when Rashid came back into the attack and won his wicket in the 16th over the result was inevitable.
So that’s a clean sweep on the tour, the hosts winning all six fixtures as Australia pack their bags for Zimbabwe for a T20 tri-series. It’ll be a toss of the coin for man of the match between Buttler for his rapid 61 and Rashid for his clutch 3/27 in defence of 221. I’d go with the leggie. Keen an eye on the website for the match report, which I’m sure will be up soon. We’ll be back with the OBO tomorrow afternoon from Bristol when England’s women host New Zealand in the T20 triseries. Until then, bye for now!
ENGLAND WINS BY 28 RUNS! AUSTRALIA ALL OUT 193! (WICKET! Stanlake c Morgan b Plunkett 7. Swepson 3*)
Billy Stanlake plonks Plunkett over midwicket for six but tries it again and doesn’t get much on it at all, the sklipper Morgan running around from cover to take the catch and complete the match! England comfortable victors by 28 runs.
“It’s plain to me that there is an escalation in weird places to email or tweet to you from,” writes Scott Probst to conclude the emails for the night. “Now an ambulance. What has the British health system come to?” It has been good fun chatting tonight. Thanks for your emails.
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WICKET! Tye c Plunkett b Willey 20 (Australia 184-9)
Tye tries to plonk back to back straight sixes off Willey but just fails to get over the head of Plunkett on the long-on boundary. To be fair to the West Australian, he has certainly enhanced his reputation as a hitter on this tour, which won’t be for nothing when they are thinking about the ODI World Cup squad in about nine months from now.
19th over: Australia 186-9 (Swepson 3, Stanlake 1) Target 222 Singles exchanged through the off side to conclude Willey’s night, 1/31 with eight dot balls. He did good.
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18th over: Australia 177-8 (Tye 14, Swepson 1) Target 222 Swepson has spent countless hours in the nets on the Test tours he has been on but I strongly doubt that will give him the superhuman powers he requires to pull of a miracle from here. A nice drive to extra cover, mind, before Tye strikes hard down the ground for two more to finish. 45 from 12 needed. (Yeah, I know).
WICKET! Richardson c Hales b Jordan 0 (Australia 174-8)
Kane Richardson’s nightmare of an evening ends with a first ball blob. Jordan is on a hat-trick with the South Australian gifting a catch to mid-off with Hales taking it easily.
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WICKET! Agar b Jordan 29 (Australia 174-7)
The resistance should be broken now! Agar bowled behind his legs from an 88mph rocket. That’s why Jordan is in this team: he’s fast and accurate.
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17th over: Australia 173-6 (Agar 29, Tye 11) Target 222 Willey does a fine job here, conceding only singles. There is a wide in there too but the accuracy there with his yorkers wide of the crease was outstanding. 49 needed from 18 balls.
“And I thought T20 was silly but it’s tingling,” writes Jeremy Bunting. “I’m reading this in the back of an ambulance, all wired up with ECG etc. Fortunately the paramedic is enjoying this too. We’re just trying to keep my pulse rate down.” A common affliction. For so many years I tried to ignore T20. Now, I can’t get enough of it.
16th over: Australia 167-6 (Agar 27, Tye 8) Target 222 Well, maybe it should be finished but nobody tell Andrew Tye who has smacked Adil Rashid into the crowd at midwicket to finish his spell! Have that! Keeps the strike with a drive down the ground that he has absoltely flogged. Interesting. Rashid took 3/27 from his four. Bowled.
“Re: Scott of Iceland fame (Over 5),” replies Guy Hornsby. “For clarity, I was referring to the mighty cricket, of course. Let’s not go down some sort of Fred West/Trueman rabbit hole shall we? Anyway, what was that about being a bit short at 220?” Scott, over to you
WICKET! Finch c b Rashid 84 (Australia 158-6)
You cannot fault Aaron Finch but he’s gone! He took on Rashid down the ground but miscued a delivery that had a bit of air. Jordan raced around from long on to complete the catch in the deep. The captain is gone for 84 from 41 balls. That should be it.
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15th over: Australia 154-5 (Finch 80, Agar 26) Target 222 Back to seam with Chris Jordan, who went around a bit earlier. Good start with a couple of well-landed slower balls but Agar is up to the task, timing spectacularly through cover out of the block hole for his fourth boundary. The West Australian is well and truly doing his bit here. Two more yorkers to finish for Jordan, both Australians taking singles down the ground in response. Finch to take strike next over with Rashid back on. Good cricket. 82 from 38 needed.
14th over: Australia 144-5 (Finch 76, Agar 20) Moeen to bowl out his fourth over here. Agar is down with that, crossbatting him over his head for four! Finch gets his chance for the second half of the set and goes big over midwicket for another six. You can’t bowl full tosses at Aaron Finch. Two balls to go, he’s straight over his head in almost identical fashion to Agar earlier in the over - four more! AND AGAIN! SIX OVER MIDWICKET! THE BIGGEST OF THE LOT! 22 from the over and suddenly it is game on! There, I’ve said it! These two have put on 72 in 32 balls. They need 13 an over from here. Moeen finishes with with 1/58 (!) from his four after two punishing overs.
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13th over: Australia 122-5 (Finch 59, Agar 15) Another six to Finch to start this Plunkett over! Over long-off, not the sweetest shot he has hit tonight but just does enough to for him to go journey for the fourth time in the last couple of overs. Agar’s turn now, playing an outstanding square drive for four more! Singles from each of them to conclude the set, Finch keeping the strike as the 50-run stand is reached in just 26 balls. Another two of those and they win. Simple game, right?
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12th over: Australia 109-5 (Finch 51, Agar 10) Finch frees the arms, picks his spot and lands a big blow: his second dig into the midwicket crowd to begin the new Moeen Ali over. Agar’s turn and the bat comes out of his hand when swinging! Not ideal. Finch does keep the willow in his, making solid contact again at Moeen, this time down the ground. Now big again! Twice in the over Finch gets it over the ropes at midwicket. That’s huge and Finch moves to 50 with the blow; 27 balls for him to get there with five fours and three sixes. The ball has been damaged in its journey so they need to grab a new ball with one delivery to come. Will Finch let the good times roll and swing again? Nup, he takes the single on offer at deep point to keep the strike. Spot on. So then, 19 taken from the over to keep the Australians in touch.
11th over: Australia 90-5 (Finch 33, Agar 9) Agar can’t Radhid him off the square early in the over. Oh right, now I’ve said that he’s smashed him over midwicket for six! Stand and deliver stuff from Ashton. Nice. But two more dots to finish the over making just seven from it with two balls scored off. Immaculate white-ball bowling from the leggie.
10th over: Australia 83-5 (Finch 32, Agar 3) When Finch does get his chance, he steps down at Moeen and slogs it across the ropes at midwicket for six! The first of the Australian innings. By contrast, England smacked ten of them. Quick single to short third man to finish, again from Finch, Agar is just safe from the direct hit. Ten from it but at the halfway mark the required rate for Australia is now 14.3 an over. Finch would need to get 100 of them.
WICKET! Stoinis c Roy b Rashid 0 (Australia 72-5)
Stoinis second ball gives some catching practice to long-off, Roy making no mistake. The second time in a row that Marcus Stoinis has fallen for a duck. Three wickets in nine balls from the spinners. “This is quite brilliant from England,” says Nasser Hussain again. “He’s a much, much improved cricketer. He has a lot of control.”
9th over: Australia 73-5 (Finch 24, Agar 1) Again off the mark down the ground to keep the strike. Finch can’t get a hit. He’s faced just 19 balls in nine overs. What doing?
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WICKET! Carey c Rashid 3 (Australia 72-4)
Bowled him! With no footwork to speak of, Carey tried to punch Rashid through the legside but he only got enough wood on it to end up back on his stumps. “If Moeen Ali doesn’t get you, Alid Rashid must!” roars Nasser Hussain on the telly. He’s not wrong.
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8th over: Australia 70-3 (Finch 24, Carey 1) Moeen turns the screws, racing through the remainder of his over in about 45 seconds. Finch, with the pressure piling up, deflects precisely to the third man rope to give the visitors some brief respite.
WICKET! Head c Hales b Moeen Ali (Australia 64-3)
What a summer for the England spinners! For the umpteenth time, Moeen Ali gets in the book as soon as he comes into the attack with Head popping a catch straight down the throat of Hales at long-on.
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7th over: Australia 63-2 (Finch 18, Head 15) Finch tries to give himself room to Adil Rashid’s first over, showing his stumps, but he keeps picking out the fielders in the ring on the off-side. Both players take singles down the ground to finish but just four from the over. Tough going for the visitors from here. One of these two need to explode.
6th over: Australia 59-2 (Finch 16, Head 13) Target 222 Australia’s 50 up with an elevated cross-bat whack over mid-off from Finch. The skipper has only faced eight balls in six overs - not ideal for a bloke who can make it count more than most with the field in. Anyway, it’s Willey again with an excellent bumper that Finch can’t get away. The Victorian finishes the over nicely with a well-timed clip into the gap for four behind square. That’s the power play done. At the same time, England were 70-0.
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5th over: Australia 47-2 (Finch 7, Head 11) Target 222 Nice timing on the Trav Head clip to begin, winning him four. Plunkett mixes up his pace and lengths for the rest of the set, preventing a second boundary from being taken - all inside edges and miscued pulls. One more power play over left. Hi Ho Silver Lining gets a run at the end of the over, which could be the Cricket Ground DJ trolling Finch? Hard to tell.
“England don’t do cold blooded killers?” probes Scott in Iceland at Guy Hornsby’s earlier note. “You wot? Crippen. The Yorkshire Ripper. Jack the Ripper. Maggie Thatcher.” A point that speaks for itself.
4th over: Australia 39-2 (Finch 6, Head 5) Target 222 The out chance was on so Willey took a ping at the non-strikers’ stumps from cover but instead, it is five added to the Australian total with four overthrows. Head, with that, off the mark. Finch keeps the strike with a tuck around the corner. Wickets in consecutive overs setting England up perfectly to suck the life out of this as a genuine contest if they can get one more before the spin twins come on.
WICKET! Maxwell b Jordan 10 (Australia 33-2)
So much for that. The delivery after Maxwell slaps a free hit down to long-on and Jordan has taken his off-stump out of the ground with a slower ball. He was shuffling in the crease to try and make a good over a very good one but when the ball belatedly arrived it was a big swing and an costly miss. Australia already in strife.
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3rd over: Australia 24-1 (Finch 5, Maxwell 2) Target 222 In comes Glenn Maxwell. He was the MC at Aaron Finch’s wedding in April, which meant both men missed the first game of the IPL. What I’m trying to say is that these two are good mates who know how to bat together. The successful over ends with a Finch boundary, slashed over third man. The Edgbaston punters singing Three Lions again, and in turn, so am I.
WICKET! Short c Moeen Ali b Plunkett 16 (Australia 17-1)
Simply helped around the corner to Moeen, cruising the circle on the 45. Maybe a bit of pace off the ball to prompt the error but it is a soft dismissal no matter how it is cut. Plunkett can’t be kept quiet, into the book from his second delivery of the night.
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2nd over: Australia 17-0 (Short 16, Finch 0) Chris Jordan gets the new ball and beats Short with a wide yorker to begin; nothing wrong with that. “The batsman wouldn’t expect that” notes Kumar Sangakkara on the telly. Next up though, he’s on the hip and Short does reach the rope for the first time in this daunting chase. Then he goes again, this time to fine leg for four more. That’ll help his confidence. The opener then slaps a lovely, lovely drive through cover. Three on the bounce! It prompts the Cricket Ground DJ (DREAM JOB) to blast Guru Josh, which never fails to bring me up at a game of cricket. Accurate bumper to finish from the Sussex quick.
“Evening Adam.” G’day Guy Hornsby. “I know there’s this other tournament on apparently, but I’ll take this lot over Brazil any day. I know it’s far too far out from the Big Cup yet, but the ruthlessness and unrelenting throat-treading force of this England team is chilling, even to us Poms. We just don’t really do cold-blooded killers, so the depth of clean strikers and canny, ice-cool bowlers in this squad feels totally alien, but exhilarating all the same. Like a vodka shot on the commute to work. 220 almost seems a bit short, given where we were, which is really terrifying.” Probably threw away 250. How’s that for mental?
Time for Glenn Maxwell.
1st over: Australia 4-0 (Short 3, Finch 0) Not the sort of start that Australia needed from their explosive left-hander, D’Arcy Short beaten twice to begin. He gets a couple later in the over and is unlucky not to record a boundary when driving straight - the stumps getting in the way. A wide in there too makes four from the Willey set.
“Yes Adam,” replies Scott. “I was in a packed pub (the Bastard Brew) in Reykjavik for the event. Followed in quick succession by a number of other pubs. Suffice to say an epic night followed. I’m not sure why I bothered to pay for that bed at the guesthouse, it didn’t see much use.” I went to Homecoming Dance (in the USA) with an Inga from Iceland. That’s all I’ve got.
“Hey Adam.” Scott, welcome to my inbox. “I’m following the commentary on the bus to Akureyri on Northern Iceland. Currently south of Borganes. I’m looking forward to reading about Maxi’s heroics (which for some reason my phone wanted to correct to herpes). Keep up the good work!”
I know all about that auto-correct! Did you watch the football with the locals yesterday? I was very (very) lucky to be on the radio commentary when Maxwell hit 145 in 65 balls at Kandy a couple of years ago in a T20I. Go that again, Big Show. I dare ya.
Clinical from England. The base was laid with 70 in the power play through Roy (44) and Buttler (61). The latter was outstanding again, tallying his half-century in 22 balls - a new England record. Hales (49) finished off the job with Root (35) doing his job as well. For Australia, Swepson on debut was the best of the bowlers earning 2/37. Two of Tye’s overs were off the very top shelf but his 0/37 won’t show that. They chased 250-odd at Auckland in February so they will back themselves - this is T20, afterall. But the hosts won’t need to do much to shut the game down if they can get power play wickets. Grab a drink and a bite to eat, I’ll catch you in about ten minutes for the chase.
Australia chasing 222
20th over: England 213-4 (Bairstow 14, Moeen Ali 0) Last delivery of the innings. Bairstow picks the knuckle-ball yorker and plonks it over the wide long-on rope into the crowd, who have had a great old time watching this. Only eight from the final over but England have finished with plenty.
WICKET! Root run out 35 (England 215-5)
What a final over this is! Four dots and a leg-bye from Tye so far, Root unable to get his yorkers away. When Bairstow played and missed the penultimate delivery, they ran anyway and Root was run out. Can the West Australian the landing?
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19th over: England 213-4 (Root 34, Bairstow 8) The Hollies Stand are singing Three Lions and the entire ground join in. The new man Bairstow is here now and first ball has the space to slap over long-off for six! Just get your eye in then, Jonny. To be fair to Stoinis, he gets through the last four balls giving away three singles. That’s a win to the visitors.
WICKET! Hales c & b Stoinis 39 (England 204-4)
What a catch! Stoinis, on for his first twist, bowled an off-cutter bouncer at Hales first up, so high he tried to tennis-serve it down the ground. But the big all-rounder, in his follow-through, has stuck out his right hand and taken a beauty. Reflexes at their best.
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18th over: England 204-3 (Hales 49, Root 33) Richardson is going to bowl his final over and I feel like he is some chance to break the all-time record for most runs conceded in a T20, which I reckon is 70. Hales helps, bringing up the England 200 with an elegant sweep from a yorker after dancing across his stumps. This is the modern age! A thick edge sails to third man next ball but Richardson will be relieved a fielder is there to cut it off. He’s back down the ground again for a couple before playing and missing at the final delivery. Nine off it to save Richardson’s blushes somewhat; 0/59 from his four.
17th over: England 195-3 (Hales 43, Root 30) Tye again so Hales plays one of the shots of the night, clearing his front leg to time a full ball down to long-on for four. Less nuance involved later in the over, picking up a ball in the slot and depositing it into the crowd at long-on for six! That’s his second big one, moving into the 40s. Back to fun and games to finish for Root, flicking a reverse scoop through the vacant cordon for four more! Sure, why not? That makes 17 from the over. England on track for 220-odd.
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16th over: England 178-3 (Hales 31, Root 25) Richardson has two more overs to get through and it could be a long 12 balls if the initial offering is anything to do by, allowing Root to lift four over third man then missing out wide, gifting an extra. Oh, he’s very unlucky next, locating a genuine edge that flies over first slip for four. Batsman’s game, innit? Root picks out point for one to give Hales a go, who digs out a yorker into a gap behind point for third four in the over! Shot. Richardson then believes he has the big right-hander caught behind and sends it upstairs but his bat hit the turf, not the ball. All told, 15 from it. He’s already gone for 50 with another to go. Ouch.
15th over: England 163-3 (Hales 26, Root 16) Swepson, as Ponting notes on TV, is a very modern T20 leggie, seldom giving it any air. It works here until it doesn’t, Root getting down low to play a premeditated sweep and makes no mistake. His first four. Root keeps the strike again with one to short this man. That’s Swepson done, his figures 2/37. I am looking forward to watching him bowl a lot more in Harare next week.
14th over: England 154-3 (Hales 25, Root 8) Tye has very little on Hales, the man who had a ball smacking him around at Nottingham this time last week deflecting expertly to the third man rope with the fielder up inside the circle. Ah, a couple where one was on offer to midwicket later in the over when Richardson misfields - he’s having a shocker. Tye has about 17 slower balls (Ponting says 8 or 10 on TV) and I suspect we’ll see all of them by the time that he has finished here. Root keeps the strike with one to midwicket. Back to back overs with ten off, which isn’t a bad result for Australia.
13th over: England 144-3 (Hales 20, Root 3) Agar is back and Hales is feasting on him first up, down on one knee and and launching over midwicket for his first six! But the left-armer gives up just three singles from the final four deliveries. He hasn’t done a lot wrong on this tour. Expect to see him back here for the World Cup next year.
12th over: England 134-3 (Hales 12, Root 1) Swepson was swung around to the Birmingham End for his third over. In addition to the wicket, England added only six runs in the smaller denominations. The man on debut has taken 2/28 from his three and is by far Australia’s best so far. Buttler has joined the TV commentary talking about how much he enjoys opening in T20s. He should probably do it more often.
WICKET! Morgan c Tye b Swepson 15 (England 132-3)
Morgan tries to get inventive but ultimately picks out deep over with a reverse/kinda/slog sweep. Swepson gets a second.
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11th over: England 128-2 (Morgan 14, Hales 8) Shot. Hales splits the fielders on the circle behind point to begin to register his first boundary. Richadson, who went for 23 from his first set, is back where he needs to be in the blockhole then using his changes of pace. Urgh, then he gives Morgan a full toss, slapped away to point for the second four of the over. The South Australian is in this side for his accuracy and it has been well off tonight. “He has got to get out of this over,” says Kumar Sangakkara on TV. And he does, Morgan only able to take one to midwicket from the last ball to retain the strike.
Talk about a 360 cricketer!
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 27, 2018
More videos and scorecard here: https://t.co/aVDRVShAfJ#ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/zDfj9sIyNx
10th over: England 116-2 (Morgan 9, Hales 1) Before the wicket, Roy danced and slapped him down the ground and then he had a six taken from him via four overthrows - awful from Swepson. Morgan shuffles across his stumps and clobbers the final ball for six over midwicket. Half way and England are 116. A wicket and 18 from this one.
WICKET! Roy c Finch b Stanlake 44 (England 108-2)
Superb bouncer, Roy getting none of it and the captain does the rest running around at midwicket. Wickets in consecutive overs, Stanlake into the book.
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9th over: England 98-1 (Roy 34, Morgan 2) What a fantastic over from the young fella. Believe the hype, I say. He is mixing it up and it is working. Didn’t at all deserve to go for 16 from his first. Morgan, meanwhile, has elevated himself up the order.
WICKET! Buttler c Short b Swepson 61 (England 95-1)
Very well bowled! The man on debut has been rewarded for ripping the ball as hard as he can both away from, and back towards, the right-hander. After three singles from the first four balls, Buttler tried to take matters into his own hands by clearing midwicket but the wrong’un hurries him up and he can’t quite nail it, picking out the sweeper.
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8th over: England 92-0 (Roy 33, Buttler 59) Agar goes again but the story is much the same, doing a lot right early on to keep the pair to three singles until Jos decides the time is right, coming down the track and hitting his fifth six of the evening, this time over long-on. Well done from Agar, slipping through a couple of quicker deliveries to finish, both of them dots. Australia would England collecting nine off every over from here, I am sure.
Buttler records the fastest 50 for an England player in T20 internationals!
7th over: England 83-0 (Roy 31, Buttler 52) Stanlake to bowl the first over with the field out. Not a great shot to start from Roy but gets two. Buttler’s turn later and he’s nearly caught! Stanlake runs into Roy when running back to complete the catch. Aaron Finch briefly looks at the umpire as if to say the non-striker deliberately got in the way but it is only a polite enquiry. Jos doesn’t mind the kerfuffle, making room to slay over extra cover for six more. As you do, Jos! He then makes room the other way to lift over his shoulder another four. What a shot! That is the 50 in 22 balls so he has broken Bopara’s record! 12 from the over. That makes 83 from seven overs. Carnage.
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6th over: England 70-0 (Roy 28, Buttler 42) Last over of the power play goes to Agar. Dropped catch first ball! Oh, no. Richardson at long-on after having 23 taken from his only set so far, gets the most straightforward chance off Roy. The batsman is walking off the field when the chance is spilled. Guess what? In response, Buttler pops a drive over cover for four then makes room to his a big six over midwicket. Into the 40s already in 18 balls. Ravi Bopara has the fastest England T20 half-century, Nasser informs us, in 23 balls. (#RecallRavi #RecallRavi #RecallRavi). Two precious dot balls to finish, so maybe Jos will have to wait for that record. The power play is worth 70, exactly what Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt piled on in the first six last week at Taunton against South Africa before making a 250. The base is laid for another record-breaking night.
5th over: England 59-0 (Roy 27, Buttler 32) AJ Tye knows the drill here more than any other Australian bowler with his vast experience, not least in the IPL where he was top of the pops for wickets this year. It is sedate early in his over, singles tucked then pushed then hacked. Can he stick the landing? A knuckle ball nearly gets him Buttler’s wicket! Spooned to mid-off but lands about four metres short. Excellent over this and it is completed with another dot. Just three singles. What Australia desparately needed.
4th over: England 56-0 (Roy 25, Buttler 31) Good luck, Kane Richardson. First, Roy slays through cover for his fifth boundary then Buttler swings hard through the line for his second six over the bowler’s head! Oh my, then he hits towards the other sightscreen with an immaculate scoop next ball. As you do. This is going to be gigantic of these two can bat for another half an hour or so. 50 up now with a sliced drive behind point. Not at all where Buttler was aiming but it matters not a jot with only two men out of the circle. Richardson goes short and Buttler somehow crossbats it over mid-off for another four to finish! 23 off the over and we still have two power play overs left.
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3rd over: England 33-0 (Roy 20, Buttler 13) Swepson into the act for his first bowl for Australia. On telly we are seeing footage from the cap presentation with Justin Langer getting very excited, as is his way. First up, he’s more or less on the mark with a top-spinner that Buttler can’t score from. He does to the second ball, albeit through the inside half of the bat through midwicket for four. Not the most convincing shot. Nor is the next, an inside edge to short fine. Nearly a run out when Roy drops his bat running to the danger end! Sent upstairs but the TV confirms he had his boot in. “Same old Aussies,” sing the crowd, “always cheating.” Bit harsh. Roy has the bat where it should be for a reverse sweep next up, making perfect contact to the boundary again. One more to midwicket takes the Surrey man into the 20s. Buttler finishes the best way he knows how: dancing and smashing the legspinner over his head for six! Nearly makes it into the Australian changerooms! The over has gone for 16. “Welcome to international cricket,” says David Lloyd on Sky. Something like that. Wasn’t a bad over!
2nd over: England 17-0 (Roy 15, Buttler 2) Agar to send down the second over, so Nas will be happy. Roy dancing early, pushing down to long-off for one. That gives Buttler his first chance of the night. He’s off the mark immediately, turning through midwicket for one as well. Roy driving again down to the sweeper at long-off. Agar won’t mind that. Buttler keeps the strike with a pull to midwicket. Very good over.
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1st over: England 13-0 (Roy 13, Buttler 0) From the Pavilion End comes Stanlake. “I wonder if Australia could have gone with spin a Roy?” speculates Nasser Hussain on telly. Not tonight. Here we go. Four first ball! Roy just pushes through midwicket and times superbly. Then four more from the third ball! Roy was dancing and swinging, didn’t make great contact but it raced away to long-on for four. The slip comes out after just three balls. Nasser has another bite about why Australia should have gone with Agar as the Surrey opener lashes another boundary. Wow, he’s absolutely creamed that through point. Keeps the strike with a deflection to third man, making 13 from the opening set.
Big night for Paul Farbrace. Remember, the England white-ball revolution began under him back in 2015 as the stand-in coach before Trevor Bayliss took over. The current top man has given many generous endorsements of his number two, who is well placed to take over when the Australian packs it in after next year’s Ashes. Righto! The players are on the field! Jason Roy and Jos Buttler are walking out to a packed Edgbaston with Aaron Finch leading the Australians. Billy Stanlake will get the first chance with the new ball for the visitors after his wonderful spell on Sunday. PLAY!
Speaking of TMS. Before I’m asked (for once), I’ll get ahead of the curve: this is the link to listen if you are outside of the UK. But stick with me, of course.
James Taylor, former England batsman, on TMS. “We have got a belting surface. Ideally both teams would have another bowling all rounder, which is why Ben Stokes (back for the India series) is so vital to this side. But Dawid Malan misses out with four 50s in the last five T20 internationals so it shows how strong England are. I am intrigued how Australia go tonight.”
Eoin Morgan said at the toss he said they would have bowled first as well. He has a terrible record tossing the coin! As for Aaron Finch, he says Australia are confident, regardless of what happened in the 50-over series, due to the form they have shown in T20 internationals.
Finch is quite strong on wanting more T20 series rather than one-off games popped on the end of 50-over series. It’s where the games in February worked really well, I thought. To that end, tonight serves as a nice lead-in to the series they have next week in Zimbabwe with Pakistan. Would you believe, if they make that final they will play five T20s in seven days. What could possibly go wrong?
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), D Arcy Short, Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (+), Ashton Agar, Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson, Mitchell Swepson, Billy Stanlake.
As expected. Swepson gets his debut. Stanlake, Richardson and Tye all keep their spots from the side that largely dominated in February.
England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (+), Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid
No last-minute changes here, either. Chris Jordan gets his chance.
Aaron Finch won the toss, Australia to bowl first
Here are the team sheets. I will jot them down in full as well. Stand by.
Really good interview overnight with Justin Langer on Melbourne radio station SEN if you’re after something in your ears before the hitting begins. He highlighted his concerns with the domestic Australian 50-over comp and hinted that Tim Paine might have too much on his dancecard for the ODI captaincy. Plenty of other nuggets as well.
Stop the presses! The track looks a road.
Debut! At long last, Mitch Swepson gets a cap. I say at long last because he’s been three tours so far (albeit in the longer format) where he’s done nothing but mix the cordial. Good luck, young fella. He will partner Ashton Agar in the spin division.
A T20 cap for Mitchell Swepson! The leggie gets his first taste of international cricket against 🏴 at Edgbaston #ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/cUQh8RMoMa
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) June 27, 2018
Over in Dublin. India are beginning their tour, playing Ireland en route to England for a full tour that begins next week. Kohli’s side made 208-5 with Rohit Sharma slotting 97 from 61 balls after putting on 160 with Dhawan (74) for the first wicket. The captain, would you believe, made a second ball blob. Don’t expect that to happen that often while he’s in this part of the world. Ireland are 13/1 in reply after two overs.
Preamble
Hello! Welcome to Edgbaston for the one-off T20 international between England and Australia. The last time these teams met in the format it was David Warner’s side registering a pair of easy wins en route to an unbeaten tri-series campaign. The morning after that final, Warner (with me up the back of the plane) flew to South Africa. Nothing has happened in Australian cricket since then, of course. No. Nothing at all.
This time around, the fixture is the last chance for the tourists to get a win before taking off for Zimbabwe on another short-form tri-series assigment with Pakistan next week. It is Aaron Finch’s first night back as captain of the team, appointed after Warner and Steve Smith were given their 12-month marching orders in Cape Town. The pair, as it happens, are back on the park themselves this week but a continent away in Canada.
Enough about them, though. It is a good news story for Finch who led this team all the way up until the 2016 World T20 when he was punted in favour of Smith. He knows this is his chance to assert himself to help guarantee that he will be the man with the arm band the next time a global tournament comes up in this format in 2020. He will also be aware that this is an audition of sorts for the 50-over team’s leadership. Time will tell.
Sydney slugger Nic Maddinson has joined the squad as young leggie Mitch Swepson and Queensland all-rounder Jack Wildermuth. Neither of the latter two have played for Australia before in any format, the spinner the more likely to debut tonight. Glenn Maxwell has also been declared fit after hurting a shoulder at Trent Bridge last week.
As for England, why change that winning feeling? After thrashing Australia five-zip in the 50-over series, their batting line-up will remain just as it was in Manchester but with Jos Buttler up the top. Chris Jordan is into the side with the ball, given his first chance to appear for his country this summer. The main change is off the field, assistant coach Paul Farbrace taking the main job with Trevor Bayliss using the next week or so to get a better handle on the county cricket circuit. Better late than never, right?
We’ll have a toss in about 20 minutes from now. I look forward to keeping you company through the match. Check in with me at any time on the email or the tweet.
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