England v Australia 2nd ODI at Headingley September 21st

Neil Whitaker reports

IF it’s a ODI it must mean another Australia ODI victory as they beat England by 68 runs with 9.4 overs to spare at Headingley to take a 2-0 nil lead  with three matches to play.

England’s interim coach Marcus Trescothick said: “The game was won and lost in our batting powerplay and it’s something that we’ve got to get better at.  We will continue to be positive and take the games to the opposition it we’ve got to be more positive.  We are trying to give the guys experience but we are also trying to win games and go about it in the right way.

We will talk about ding positive for longer.  It’s not rocket science the games best 50 over teams are doing it better for to overs.”

Chasing only 261 for victory looked to be an easy task for England but they were soon in trouble.  Australia took five  wickets in their powerplay.  After surviving a catch behind on reveiw Phil Salt was soon on his back to the hutch.  He played and missed at three deliveries and feathered the fourth to POTM Alex  Carey.

Mitchell Starc struggled with his direction but when he got it right he took the outside edge of Will Jacks’ bat and the ball flew to Matty Short at second slip going to his right.

Harry Brook, the first Yorkshire player to captain England in a ODI match at Headingley, got off the mark by drilling Starc to the mid-wicket boundary.  Three balls later Starc angled on in at him and was given out leg before.  Brook reveiwed it and the replay showed it to be hitting.

Ben Duckett pulled Aaron Hardie but got through his shot early and Hardie took a brilliant return catch diving to his left and taking the catch in his left hand.  He got on a hattrick when Liam  Livingstone glanced the next ball  off his legs and Carey took a great catch in his left hand diving to his left.

On 17 Will Smith pulled Hardie to Short at mid-wicket who made a valiant attempt with his left hand to catch it but it would stick.  He swung a short ball from Starc into the West  stand for an huge six.  Adam Zampa was another Aussie bowler to get pulled into the West stand for  a six by Smith.  Smith fell in the first  over after tea one shy of his 50.  He clipped Hazlewood to substitute Jake Fraser-McGurk at short mid-wicket who took a lightning catch.

Trescothick added: “Smith has absorbed pressure in the Tests and today he showed an example of that. He’ll win many games for England the more that he plays.”

Jacob Bethell took a couple of steps to his right and sliced a drive of Glenn Maxwell to Starc at short third who saw the ball late and dived forward to take the catch.

Brydon Carse went down the pitch to Short and planted him in the Howard stand for a six.  He tried to hit a slower and wide ball from Zampa for a straight six but didn’t get hold of it and Hardie coming in from the long-off boundary took the catch.

Matty Potts had a life on two when he gave Josh Hazlewood at mid-on, a hard chance when he drilled Hardie to him but Hazlewood could only get his outstretched right hand to it but couldn’t make the catch.

Adil Rashid tried to sweep Maxwell but missed a straight and was given out and the replay showed it to be hitting.  The match was over when  a short ball from Starc too the shoulder of Olly  Stone’s  bat and Smith at slip took an easy catch.

Put into bat, Carey top scored for the Aussies with 71 but they were guilty of not batting through their 50 overs they were dissmissed with 5. 2 overs left.

The Aussies wicketkeeper came in the 25th over with Australia on 145 for four and he was the last man out 20 overs later.  He couldn’t get into a big partnership with either  his captain Mitchell Marsh or Maxwell.  The big partnership he could get was with Hardie, playing his 6th ODI, and they added 55 in eight overs for the seventh wicket.

He  managed to get consecutive fours  off Rashid, the first was straight and the second he swept to the fine leg boundary. Carey smashed Jacks for a straight six to bring up his 50 from 47 balls with six fours and that six.  He flat batted Stone for another this time over long-off.

On 66 he pulled Stone but Bethell running in from the mid-wicket boundary dived forward but couldn’t hold on to the ball which ran to the boundary.  Three balls later he sliced a drive and found Salt coming in from the point boundary.

The partnership was broken when Carse who had been expensive came back into the attack  and took two wickets in two balls. First Hardie top edged a pull to Potts at mid-wicket.  Starc chipped the next ball to Potts at square leg.  Zampa survived the hattrick ball.

When Zampa was the ninth Aussie man  to fall it looked the Aussies wouldn’t reach the 40th over. Zampa was dissmissed when he  backed away from Adil Rasid and cut him to Stone at point.

Then we had seven overs with Carey farming the strike with Hazlewood and England spreading the field and  bringing it in for the fifth and sixth balls.

 Carey said: “It’s great to win games for Australia especially here against a good side.  I thought that 280-300 was where we wanted to be.Today was about spending some time in the middle, whe I usually go out to bat the match is usually set up for you.

In the field we have the players in the right positions and fielding can win games of cricket.”

Yorkshire’s Adil Rashid took two wickets for 42  in his 10 overs and became the  first English spinner and  the third fastest spinner to 200 victims.  His 200th victim was former Yorkshire spinner  Maxwell.  Maxwell came in,  the Aussies were five wickets down and got off the mark with a six over long-on from his first ball. And that was that from him.  He top edged a sweep off Adil Rashid and found Bethell on the mid-wicket boundary.

For the second match running England captain Brook won the toss and this time he put the Aussies in on his home ground. England made one change from the team that lost at Trent Bridge with Stone replacing Jofra Archer while Australia made three changes Maxwell came in for Cameron Green, Hazelwood replaced Ben Dwarshus and Starc came in for Sean Abbott.

Short edged his first ball from Stone on one but the ball fell short off Jacks at first slip. In his third over Short pulled over square leg for a massive six into the West stand.  Later in the over Short left a straight ball which hit him on his pad.  Umpire Russell Warren in his first ODI gave him not out but England reviewed it and the replay showed it to be too high. 

Travis Head smashed Potts for a straight six and two balls later he edged him over the slips for a streaky four.  He outscored his opening partner but in the ninth over he flicked Carse off his hips to Stone on the backward square leg boundary.

Short hit three consecutive biofuels Stone.  He pushed tentatively at Potts trying to run him down to third man but edged it to stumper Smith. 

Marsh hooked Carse over square leg for a huge six.  He pulled Carse over the square leg boundary for a six into the West stand to bring up his 50 from 47 balls with six fours and two sixes.

Two balls later he pulled a free hit into the West stand for another six to bring up the 50 partnership with Labuschagne. The partnership was broken in the next over when  Marnus Labuschagne pulled a bad ball from Bethell to Livingstone at mid-on.

Bethell got his second wicket in his next over when Marsh tried to sweep him but missed the ball,  was hit on his back pad and was plumb leg before.  He was so plumb that he didn’t review it.

Potts got the big wicket of Stephen Smith when Smith got an inside edge which crashed into his stumps.