Australia has claimed the five-match ODI series against England 3-2. In the final match, Australia defeated England by 49 runs (DLS method) thanks to an all-round performance by Travis Head.
This series was England’s last before adopting coach Brendon McCullum’s ‘Bazball’ approach in Test cricket, but they faced defeat here. In this match played in Bristol, England opener Ben Duckett scored a brilliant century, but Australia’s spinners made a strong comeback, leading to Matthew Short’s explosive innings that brought the team to the brink of victory.
After losing the first two matches of the series badly, England made a strong comeback in the next two matches to level the series 2-2. Harry Brook, captaining the team in the absence of regular skipper Jos Buttler, continued his excellent batting form and played another impressive innings in the third match. Brook scored 72 runs off just 52 balls, hitting 7 sixes and 3 fours, while opener Phil Salt quickly scored 45 runs off only 27 balls.
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However, the real star for England was left-handed opener Ben Duckett, who scored his second ODI century exactly a year after his first, which was also made in Bristol. Duckett scored 107 runs off 91 balls, hitting 13 fours and 2 sixes. Together, they propelled England to 202 runs in just 25 overs. At this point, the innings took a turn as Australian spinners tightened their grip. Adam Zampa, who conceded 6 sixes to Brook, dismissed him, and then Travis Head took 4 wickets, thwarting England’s hopes of scoring over 350 runs. England finished their innings at 309 runs in 49.2 overs.
As Australia began their innings, the threat of rain loomed large. The Australian batsmen adopted an aggressive approach right from the start to stay ahead of the required run rate in case of a DLS decision. Ultimately, this strategy paid off, with Matthew Short shining as the star. Returning to the team due to captain Mitchell Marsh’s illness, opener Short scored a half-century off just 23 balls, giving the team a fiery start.
Short and Head added 78 runs in just 7.1 overs. Head scored 31, while Short scored 58 before getting out. After that, Steve Smith and Josh Inglis ensured that no more wickets fell, guiding the team to 165 runs by the 21st over. However, rain interrupted the match in the 21st over, and it could not resume.
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