Australia set England an imposing target of 311 to win but the hosts raced to victory with five overs to spare and moved closer to a series whitewash
Related: England scent whitewash after Jason Roy hammers Australia again
So England race to 314-4, Buttler finishes on 54 not out off 29 balls, and Hales on 34 off 45. Just as Roy reduced Bairstow to a spectator at times, so has Buttler upstaged Hales. What a batting line-up this is.
Australia, let’s not forget, broke the record for the highest ODI score at Chester-le-Street, and now even that has been snatched from them. Their batsmen salvaged some self-respect, and so did their spinners, but the seamers, apart from one hot spell from Billy Stanlake, were dire.
So England lead 4-0 with one to play. They will never get a better chance to beat Australia by Glenn McGrath’s favourite score. Thanks for your company and sorry about the hiccups. My Apple Mac is as sick as an Argentinian footballer.
The last word goes to Iain Gray. “As a longtime follower of the OBO (and former half-decent leggie), I was wondering if I could plug my ridiculous attempt at endurance walking – 52.4 miles non-stop along the South Downs. I haven’t really trained, and I am slightly concerned my sister is going to show me up by carrying me most of the way. However, it is for two great causes supported by two brilliant young men who died this year.” Good luck! Especially to your sister.
Buttler resumes his fusillade and it’s all over! England’s second-biggest chase is in the bag with more than five overs to spare. You have to feel for the Aussies, don’t you?
44th over: England 297-4 (Hales 34, Buttler 38) An over from Lyon goes for two, which is heroic in the circs. Both spinners have done OK.
43rd over: England 293-4 (Hales 32, Buttler 38) Neser’s over goes for 14 as Buttler plays a cut that’s more of a flay and a drive that’s more of a spank. He is batting like a man who has an urgent dinner date.
42nd over: England 280-4 (Hales 28, Buttler 29) Stanlake overpitches and Buttler plays a majestic off drive, with that characteristic hint of the hockey field. He has now overtaken Hales, who is not exactly out of form. Big thanks to Niall McVeigh in the office, who is posting these paragraphs as my technical troubles persist.
41st over: England 274-4 (Hales 27, Buttler 24) And that just about settles it. Richardson dishes up three short balls and Buttler hits them all for four, with two pulls and a cut. He has 24 off 14 balls, and we’re back to the mismatch of the first 20 overs. It’s a cruel old game.
40th over: England 260-4 (Hales 26, Buttler 11) Six off Stanlake’s over, as Buttler settles in like a man in form. England need 51 off the last ten overs to complete their second-highest run chase in ODIs. Australia need six wickets, but you wouldn’t know it from the field placing, which remains doggedly defensive.
This is an odd one. Morgan, who was just finding his range, prods forward at Agar and there’s a noise, but when it’s given out, Morgan reviews. Maybe he had something in his ear.
35th over:England 232-3 (Hales 21, Morgan 2) Neser keeps it tight. Apologies for the technical problems at my end - and just as the Aussies decide to play some decent cricket.
Intoxicated with his own strokeplay, Root goes for another slog-sweep and misses.
32nd over: England 213-2 (Hales 18, Root 14) A very decent over from Neser until the last ball, which Root drives on the up for four, via Neser’s boot. If it was the Aussies’ day, that would have produced a run-out.
Hales gets a nick to Neser and Paine puts it down. That was regulation, as Ricky Ponting says. Shades of David de Gea facing that shot from Ronaldo.
31st over: England 206-2 (Hales 15, Root 10) Hales finally hits his stride, spotting Stonis’s even-slower ball and slamming it to the midwicket boundary.Even after this lull, the required rate is only five-and-a-half an over.
30th over: England 198-2 (Hales 9, Root 8) Another proper over from Stanlake, who has decided to bin the Jake Dernbach impression and be Allan Donald instead.
John Starbuck has a theory (there are some phrases that will work for all forms of cricket, and that’s one of them). “Re the switching round of bowlers by Tim Paine: could it be that he’s working to a plan of trying to upset the batsmen by so many changes, trying to unsettle them? I didn’t say it’s a good idea in this case.”
29th over: England 197-2 (Hales 9, Root 7) England, who started by playing Twenty20, are now giving Test cricket a try. The upshot is that even Stoinis can bowl an over for two runs.
In my experience, most of our correspondents on here are in Dubai, but John Tumbridge is at Chester-le-Street, just to the right of the scoreboard. “It’s now 7:50 on the longest etc,” he notes. “The sun is behind the clouds and there is still no need for floodlights.” Sir Ian Botham, who is Durham’s chairman, has been harrumphing about the cost. The fact that the lights are still shining may be a measure of his influence.
28th over: England 195-2 (Hales 8, Root 6) Stanlake, emboldened by his wicket, finds some extra revs and raps Root on the glove before making him jack-knife out of the way of a bouncer. In between, Root nicks a couple of twos. And Paine has removed the lone slip, when Australia’s only hope lies in a good old English collapse.
Here’s Andrew Benton. “A two-thirds Maiden would be a Maid, and a one-third Maiden would be your Ma. Bloomers.”
27th over: England 191-2 (Hales 8, Root 2) Alex Hales gets away with a Harrow cut off Richardson, which duly goes for four. Why Lyon has been taken off is a mystery.
26th over: England 185-2 (Hales 3, Root 1) Stanlake, who was awful in his first three overs, is suddenly unplayable, deceiving Bairstowand twice defeating Joe Root, who edges short of slip and then plays at thin air.Far from going for the role of allrounder, Root is now hoping to be considered as a specialist bowler.
Ooh, maybe it’s game on after all. Bairstow tries to glide a slower ball from Stanlake and that’s a double triumph for Paine – a crisp catch and, at last, a successful bowling change. For Bairstow, 79 almost feels like par now.
25th over: England 183-1 (Bairstow 79, Hales 2) Richardson keeps it to ones and twos, but that’s halfway and England only need another 128. Game off.
24th over: England 176-1 (Bairstow 73, Hales 1) Ten off the over, but at least Lyon has the breakthrough, and the 18th wicket of his ODI career. It’s a funny old trio of games.
An unwritten rule today says you’ve got to get out as soon as you reach three figures, so Roy plays a big mow and gets caught at third man. An ugly end to a sumptuous knock.
Roy reaches his ton in the grand manner, lifting Lyon into the crowd. He’s an all-or-nothing cricketer, which is what you need at the top of a one-day order.
23rd over: England 166-0 (Roy 94, Bairstow 71) Paine is standing up to Stoinis now, which means there can’t be a bouncer, so Bairstow is ready to seize on a slightly full one and whip it through midwicket.
22nd over: England 159-0 (Roy 92, Bairstow 66) Another decent over from Lyon, which goes for three. Spin is the way to go today.
Jonny Wilkins has a thought. “Why can’t Stokes just replace Wood, Plunkett or Willey? 3 seamers and 3 spinners (inc Root)?” He could, although Root has usually been the seventh bowler, not the sixth.
21st over: England 156-0 (Roy 90, Bairstow 64) Stoinis is tonked to cow corner by Roy, who needed to take a pill at the end of the last over. Just think what he would have if he was feeling well.
“I liked the question about what you call 2/3 maiden,” says Robin Hazlehurst, “but I’m not sure it is safe to answer on The Guardian. A slightly fallen angel? It was only a kiss, honest? Yes I was a bit tipsy but we didn’t do that!? Probably better stop now before it’s too late.”
20th over: England 146-0 (Roy 84, Bairstow 61) Lyon bowls the second-best over of the innings and has a fine shout for lbw, pinning Roy on the back pad with an off-break. Not out, says the ump, and although Hawkeye has it hitting, it would have been umpire’s call, so the Aussies are right not to review.
“Can I be an old curmudgeon?” asks Chris Drew. If you’re that polite, I’m not sure you qualify. “I know this is filling grounds, and it’s great that there is a match in Chester-le-Street, but this is getting a bit tedious. I want something more entertaining, say like another Test against Pakistan. Yours in old curmudgeonness.”
19th over: England 143-0 (Roy 82, Bairstow 60) More ones and twos off Stoinis, who also bowls the first wide of the innings. And that’s drinks. I won’t insult you by saying who’s on top.A question instead: if you were Tim Paine, what would you do? Resign, or seek political asylum?
While you’re thinking about that, we have an answer to my musings about what to call part-maidens. “OK,” says Agnes Soo, “if three dots balls is a half-maiden and four a two-thirds maiden, then six is an extra virgin over...”
For a run-out, which may be the Aussies’ best hope... But it’s not out.
18th over: England 134-0 (Roy 76, Bairstow 58) If in doubt, change the bowling. Paine removes Agar and reverts to Lyon, who almost beats Bairstow’s sweep, only to see an edge squirt away for four more.
17th over: England 127-0 (Roy 74, Bairstow 53) Paine takes Stanlake off after one over and tries Stoinis, who at least steers clear of carnage, conceding a two and three singles.
“Great commentary, Tim.” There’s no need for that, William Hargreaves, but thanks anyway. “I’d agree with your pre-innings comments that Aus v Eng always has ‘ticker’, and that even without the old foe identities there is always something to play for - even if just the ever-present averages rankings, tactics and positions in the team.” Is it enough, though?
16th over: England 122-0 (Roy 72, Bairstow 50) Bairstow goes to yet another fifty, off 40 balls, which is almost sedate by his recent standards. Roy then reverse-sweeps Agar and gets four for it. The boundary count has reached 20, and even Agar has gone for ten off an over.
15th over: England 112-0 (Roy 66, Bairstow 41) Paine doesn’t seem to have a clue what he’s doing, poor man. He recalls Stanlake, whose extra pace just makes it easy for Bairstow (a pull for four) and Roy (a miscued whip, also for four). Fewer than 200 to go. Do feel free to follow Argentina-Croatia with Scott Murray if you reckon it might be more exciting than this.
14th over: England 103-0 (Roy 62, Bairstow 41) After working out how to milk Agar, Roy and Bairstow rack up yet another hundred partnership, off 80 balls. But even then Agar almost has Roy caught at deep mid-off, as he plays a loose chip onto the green.
“Apropos nothing,” says Nigam Nuggehalli, promisingly, “481 is fantastic but we must remember it came against a team missing two of its best batsmen and three of its best bowlers. The real marker would be India in July when the English batsmen will face off against Yuzvendra Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav, the spinners who outfoxed South Africa on their turf. Looking forward to a great contest.” Fair point, though England were missing two first-teamers themselves – Stokes and Woakes.
13th over: England 97-0 (Roy 60, Bairstow 37) Facing Richardson, Bairstow plays a dreamy straight drive for four.
And here’s Tom van der Gucht. “It was interesting watching Root bowl his full 10 overs today. With all the talk of Hales making way for Stokes, when he’s fit, due to his allrounder role, perhaps a conversation has occurred within the dressing room that the decision isn’t quite as straightforward. Maybe Root’s more pedestrian batting strike rate and Moeen’s inability to finish the innings has led to them being told that they too are in the firing line and have to fight it out with Stokes for two allrounder spots.... Pretty unlikely considering Root has our highest ODI average, but the top 3 combo of Bairstow, Roy and Hales is a terrifying prospect for opponents.”
12th over: England 90-0 (Roy 58, Bairstow 32) Agar is playing a different game from everyone else – a game that is not hopelessly one-sided. He keeps these two blasters to three singles, so he has gone for only two an over, while everyone else averages 8.6.He can bat too, and has a calm temperament. As Paine seems quite unsuited to one-day cricket, I’d make Agar captain.
11th over: England 87-0 (Roy 56, Bairstow 31) Roy is seeing it so well that he can play a glide off Richardson through the vacant first slip for four. That was delicious, even if Ricky Ponting called it an edge. Roy has received 40 balls and sent ten of them to the boundary. Bairstow, not to be totally outdone, punches for four himself.
10th over: England 76-0 (Roy 50, Bairstow 26) At last, a good over. Ashton Agar comes on as Paine suddenly remembers that Roy has a weakness against slow left-arm. Agar beats him, has that appeal for a stumping, finds some turn and only concedes a single, as Roy punches to longish-off. That brings up another riotous fifty, off 36 balls.
“Which team will be more disappointed that Australia didn’t score 495?” wonders Robin Hazlehurst. “Australia because it is quite a lot of runs, or England because it would have given them a crack at the 500? Were Australia being deliberate spoilsports by losing those late wickets and not getting there? Will such comments come back to bite me on the bum later on? Have I just doomed us? Oh Hubris! So many questions...”
For stumped against Roy, off Agar. Neat work from Paine but never out.
9th over: England 75-0 (Roy 49, Bairstow 26) That 15-run over has done for Neser. Jhye Richardson takes over and he too goes for four first ball as Bairstow spots something slightly short and flays it past cover. Only Stanlake has started with anything better than a four-ball. Richardson then manages four dots, or a 2/3 maiden (neologisms please), before offering a half-tracker which Bairstow flashes over short third man for four more. He has 26 off 20, which is a new twist on second fiddle.
8th over: England 67-0 (Roy 49, Bairstow 18) A whip for two off Lyon, followed by a rasping cut for four. Can someone please take a wicket?
7th over: England 61-0 (Roy 43, Bairstow 13) Neser continues, and continues making the same mistake – straying onto the pads, once to each batsman, twice resulting in four. When Neser finally locates the off side, Roy cracks another four. He has 43 off 28 balls, and is showing that when you’re in top form, sport becomes dead simple.
6th over: England 46-0 (Roy 33, Bairstow 18) Desperate Tims, desperate measures. Paine brings on Nathan Lyon, about five overs ahead of schedule. He fires in a dart, and Bairstow says thanks very much and cuts it for four.
An email from John Tumbridge, at the ground. “It’s 6pm on the longest day of the year, the sun’s out, Roy is seeing the ball like it’s a beach ball. Why are the floodlights on?” Good question.
5th over: England 38-0 (Roy 32, Bairstow 6) Neser keeps Roy quiet for a full three balls, before handing him a tuck for two. We need a word for that – the half-maiden, quite the triumph these days.
4th over: England 35-0 (Roy 30, Bairstow 5) Roy hooks Stanlake and top-edges for the first six of the innings, before driving another four. Perhaps getting bored, he then invents a new stroke, the flap off the hip, and that goes for four too. Stanlake has gone for 2-0-26-0, and Paine ponders the most poisoned chalice since the Tories put Theresa May in Number 10.
3rd over: England 21-0 (Roy 16, Bairstow 5) “Rich form?” mutters Bairstow. “Him?” So he blasts Neser through the covers for a boundary of his own. Not to be outclassed, Neser has a shout for lbw (inside edge, and maybe going down) and then finds the top of Bairstow’s bat as he tries an expansive cut.
2nd over: England 17-0 (Roy 16, Bairstow 1) Paine plays it straight at the other end, summoning Billy Stanlake. If the idea is to make Neser look good, it works, as Stanlake dishes up two half-volleys in the channel, and Roy punches them away for four either side of mid-off. He is in rich form.
“Evening Tim.” Evening Damian Clarke. “I’m with you, in the summerhouse, drinking in the evening sun, and the Tempranillo. The new wine rack might have been a poor call. There is a good chance my wife will find me here in the morning, snoring gently with a battery dead laptop staring blankly at me.” That’s the spirit.
1st over: England 5-0 (Roy 5, Bairstow 0) Tim Paine throws the new ball to Michael Neser, who starts with a gift – a gentle half-volley on the pads, with no fine leg. Jason Roy duly puts it out of its misery. Still, Neser, like several of this Aussie team, has a good beard, halfway from hipster to WG.
Thanks Simon and evening everyone. Or should that be anyone?
There is, it has to be said, not a lot riding on this. For the Aussies, there’s the chance of a bit of self-respect – which they’ve achieved by reaching 300. For England, it’s just one more step in what could be a first 5-0 rout of their old enemy. Most interesting development of the day so far: Joe Root, spotting that Alex Hales may have edged him out of the first-choice XI, sets about turning himself into an allrounder and rattles through ten tidy overs.
I’m going to hand over to Tim de Lisle, who will take you through England’s reply. Bye!
Ricky Ponting on Sky thinks “if you’d have offered that to the Australians after the toss, they would have taken it”, and that they have posted a very competitive total. I think he’s being a bit optimistic, but the Lyon effect could still make things interesting.
According to The Cricket Prof on Twitter, Paine has played just 18 attacking shots in this series, which have brought 19 runs and seen him dismissed four times, giving him a dismissal rate of one wicket every 4.5 balls he attacks.
RECORD for Australia - hightets ever ODI total at Chester Le Street, 310-8 beating England's previous best of 307. Hundreds to @AaronFinch5 and Shaun Marsh #something
50th over: Australia 310-8 (Richardson 5, Lyon 3) Lyon comes out and has a wild swing, the ball hitting the toe of the bat and looping into the air. It’s going nowhere near a fielder so Willey hares after it himself, arriving just a moment too late to claim a five-for. Still, his last two overs brought four wickets at the cost of nine runs, which isn’t too shabby.
Paine heaves, misses and the umpire’s finger goes up instantly! That’s four wickets in eight balls for Willey!
49th over: Australia 304-7 (Paine 3, Richardson 2) Wood bowls full and straight, and it works so well he keeps doing it. There’s one wide – his fifth delivery, another yorker, slides down the leg side – but two fresh batsmen can do nothing better than occasionally send the ball squirming away for a single, and Australia boost their total by a meagre four.
48th over: Australia 299-7 (Paine 1, Richardson 0) Willey’s sixth over brings three runs, three dismissals and perhaps fatally undermines Australia’s efforts. Both of their centurions have been dismissed the very next ball after reaching 100.
And another one! This one is short, wide, and Neser moves backwards to give himself room to nick through to the keeper!
That’s great fielding! Marsh smashes the ball towards the boundary at long on, Roy catches it but his momentum is taking him over the rope so he throws it to Overton, running round from midwicket in support, whose job is simple! And Willey is on a hat-trick!
It’s a low full toss that Carey lifts to deep midwicket, where Overton runs forward to take the catch!
47th over: Australia 296-4 (Marsh 101, Carey 6) Rashid starts the over with a wide, and as far as he’s concerned it goes downhill from there. Marsh batters the ball over cow corner and deposits it deep into the stands for six, and then he cuts the next ball behind square, neatly bisecting two fielders for four, and then goes through the covers for four more, before ending the over with another six over midwicket, which takes him into triple figures! That’s a 25-run over!
46th over: Australia 271-4 (Marsh 77, Carey 6) Willey’s back, and his first ball is smashed straight back over his head, and over quite a lot of other things as well, for a huge six! A single later Carey scoops a slower ball into the air from the toe of his bat, but it lands safe, and if he didn’t anticipate that one he predicts the last well enough, ramping it over his right shoulder for four. 13 off the over.
45th over: Australia 258-4 (Marsh 70, Carey 1) Agar drives dead straight, with Rashid guessing that the ball would go to his left and thus moving out of the way. Then he drives towards mid-on, with Rashid guessing that the ball would go to his left and thus being perfectly positioned to cut it off. He’s out next ball.
Ball tracking suggests the ball was clattering into off stump. It remains with the umpire’s call, but really that was emphatic.
The umpire didn’t think so, but England think he was wrong!
Agar doesn’t spot Rashid’s googly, which flicks the top of his swishing bat and flies into Buttler’s gloves!
44th over: Australia 252-3 (Marsh 69, Agar 14) Two balls and three runs into the over there’s an extended delay for some field rejiggery. Wood then bowls short, Agar swings his bat and top-edges behind the wicket for four. That aside it’s a diet of ones and twos, and if Australia are to reach 350 they need something above 16 runs an over from here.
43rd over: Australia 242-3 (Marsh 65, Agar 9) Marsh has a wild swing at a googly, which spins past the bat and into Buttler’s gloves, and he only just gets his toe back in time to avoid a stumping. The over ends with Agar sweeping fine; Wood runs round to field but slips at the vital moment and slides with the ball into the rope. Rashid looks disgruntled.
42nd over: Australia 235-3 (Marsh 63, Agar 4) So Marsh’s injury is turning potential twos into safe singles, though there was only one such opportunity in Wood’s latest over. No wickets this time, but only four runs. Australia need, what, 15 an over from here to reach something vaguely par-ish?
41st over: Australia 232-3 (Marsh 61, Agar 3) Marsh has some kind of muscular injury, which doesn’t seem to be significantly damaging his batting, but is affecting his running. Four singles here, from Moeen’s seventh over.
40th over: Australia 228-3 (Marsh 59, Agar 1) Stoinis edges his first delivery – there’s no slip so he’s safely off the mark – and then is out next ball. It’s an inglorious cameo. He’s unexpectedly replaced by Agar. Into the last 10 overs we go, with the complexion of the game suddenly a little different.
WICKET! Finch falls lbw to Wood for 100 off 106 balls, trapped by one that skids on.
Australia 225-2 off 39.1 overs.
Watch #ENGvAUS on SS Cricket: https://t.co/cWiEllisyc
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And another! Wood bowls a delivery nearly identical to the one that did for Finch, and Stoinis squirms uncomfortably, misses it entirely and it clatters the stumps!
Finch completes his century and goes next ball, as Wood gives the umpire a very easy lbw decision to make and the batsman wisely doesn’t seek a review.
39th over: Australia 225-1 (Finch 100, Marsh 58) Marsh brings up his half-century in style, hoiking the first ball of Moeen’s over high and wide of long on for six. And then Finch completes his century in less dramatic style, easing the ball away for a single, which brings Marsh back in time for another thwack through midwicket, for four this time. That’s 14 runs from the over.
38th over: Australia 211-1 (Finch 97, Marsh 47) Mark Wood is back, replacing Overton, the only bowler currently leaking more than 5.5 runs an over (though by the end of the over Wood’s economy rate is up to 5.6). There’s one boundary, Finch clipping the ball through his own legs and away fine for four.
37th over: Australia 203-1 (Finch 92, Marsh 44) Australia take their score to 200 with a single, and then another single makes this a 100 partnership. Moeen’s five overs have cost precisely five runs each.
36th over: Australia 199-1 (Finch 90, Marsh 42) Here we go! Overton bowls, and Finch smashes the ball over midwicket for four, and then he pulls another away for six!
35th over: Australia 186-1 (Finch 79, Marsh 40) Marsh sweeps and times it nicely, the ball skimming away for four. Fifteen overs to go, and Australia need to average, what, 11 off each of them? Somewhere north of 10, the higher the happier.
34th over: Australia 178-1 (Finch 77, Marsh 34) Overton is thwacked over mid-off by Finch, the ball bouncing once on its way to the rope. Is this the acceleration? Is it coming? The boundaries are long here, which restricts scoring, but Australia will want something in the region of double their current total to consider themselves competitive.
33rd over: Australia 168-1 (Finch 70, Marsh 31) Australia continue to lay foundations. These are pretty solid foundations now, I’d have thought. With foundations like these it’s going to be an amazing house, when they get round to building it.
32nd over: Australia 165-1 (Finch 69, Marsh 29) Australia take a sharp second from the first ball of the over, but Marsh dives to get home safe. The on-field umpires send the run-out decision upstairs, though it was obvious he was in and no England player celebrated, and Kumar Dharmasena watches one replay prove it and then asks for a second angle, which also proves it. None of this seemed necessary, but Dharmasena might have been bored and pleased to have a chance to contribute.
31st over: Australia 157-1 (Finch 63, Marsh 27) I feel that I have been writing about inexpensive overs of spin bowling for a while now. Here’s Moeen’s second over, which costs four runs. But there now follows a change of pace, with Overton returning.
30th over: Australia 153-1 (Finch 60, Marsh 26) Rashid’s seventh over brings two runs. Twenty overs to go, and Australia with nine wickets in hand can go hard, from whenever it is they decide to go.
29th over: Australia 151-1 (Finch 59, Marsh 25) England are still spinning, with Moeen now bowling. Marsh hits his first delivery to Billings at deep midwicket for two, and his second to the same place in the same style with the same result.
28th over: Australia 145-1 (Finch 58, Marsh 22) 100% of Australia’s sixes have come from Finch’s bat and off Rashid’s bowling. This one, from the last ball of the over, is pumped over long-on.
27th over: Australia 136-1 (Finch 51, Marsh 18) Root completes his allocation of 10 overs, something he has done only once before, against Ireland a couple of years ago. They scored 52 off him that day; Australia have managed 44.
26th over: Australia 133-1 (Finch 51, Marsh 15) Rashid bowls, and Australia score two singles. They need to locate the accelerator pedal at some point.
25th over: Australia 131-1 (Finch 50, Marsh 14) And so here we are, at the halfway stage of Australia’s innings. Root has bowled nine overs at a cost of 4.55 apiece and Finch brings up his half-century from the last ball of the last of them, a single. These are, I suppose, good foundations for Australia. They have looked thoroughly competent. But at this point, England will surely be the happier.
24th over: Australia 128-1 (Finch 48, Marsh 13) A six! Six runs! From one ball! Rashid bowls a googly, and Finch picks it, and thumps it over cow corner!
23rd over: Australia 120-1 (Finch 41, Marsh 12) An eighth over for Root, who is not being treated with remotely enough aggression. Six singles here, and a leg-side wide by way of bonus. “Pah! This is all rather pedestrian after Tuesday’s run-gorging,” writes Guy Hornsby. “It was, to be honest, a spectacle like nothing I’ve ever seen, one continuous highlight reel, that left the viewer dazed (and if you’re an Australian, reaching for the Bundy at 4am). I hope we thrash them again, obviously, but it’s quite nice to see a vaguely normal start to this game. And nice to see Overton back. It feels like it’s been years since he’s played.”
22nd over: Australia 113-1 (Finch 38, Marsh 9) Marsh sweeps Rashid for four, with no fielder in sight. Despite that, these overs of spin are screeching past at great speed, and not at great cost.
21st over: Australia 107-1 (Finch 37, Marsh 4) Root’s seventh over yields a pair of singles. “Think this is the footage you need about the Shane Watson ghost incident,” notes John Leavey.
20th over: Australia 105-1 (Finch 36, Marsh 3) Travis Head’s face when he realised where that ball was heading was an absolute picture. He absolutely gifted England his wicket there, presumably just unaware of where Willey was standing. Marsh then comes in and hits just wide of Wood at backward point, who dives but clutches only air while the audience ooohs dramatically.
The breakthrough! Head thumps high to deep midwicket, where Willey literally stands still and waits for the ball to land in his palms!
19th over: Australia 101-0 (Finch 34, Head 63) Root bowls wide down the leg side, and Finch spins, gets some bat on it, knocks it fine past Buttler and Australia have a boundary at last.
18th over: Australia 92-0 (Finch 28, Head 60) And now eight. There is a moment, as Finch comes halfway down the track in the hope of a single after turning the ball to Root at square leg, when it looks like he might run himself out. But he sees the error of his ways just in time, heads back and survives.
17th over: Australia 88-0 (Finch 27, Head 58) And a seventh. England have smuggled five Joe Root overs past Australia at the expense of just 20 runs and a single boundary, and will now ask Rashid to bring more spin from the other end.
16th over: Australia 85-0 (Finch 25, Head 57) And a sixth. Overton’s first over went for 12 runs, and his next three have also cost 12 runs.
15th over: Australia 82-0 (Finch 23, Head 56) That’s five consecutive boundary-free overs now, Root with the latest.
14th over: Australia 79-0 (Finch 21, Head 55) Another decent over from Overton. Meanwhile, it’s all over at the World Cup, where Australia and Denmark have drawn 1-1.
13th over: Australia 75-0 (Finch 21, Head 51) Root continues, and Head completes his 50, off 43 balls. His last eight ODIs have all been against England, and there have been three single-digit scores and three half-centuries, this his second of the week.
12th over: Australia 70-0 (Finch 19, Head 48) Overton’s first delivery zips across Head, who waves his bat at it limply and is lucky to get nothing on it. It’s a much better over from Overton, who bowls straighter and fuller and offers no cheap boundaries, or indeed expensive ones.
11th over: Australia 65-0 (Finch 16, Head 46) Root slows the scoring pace a bit, his over yielding four singles.
10th over: Australia 61-0 (Finch 14, Head 44) Craig Overton’s debut ODI over, and his first delivery is shortish, wideish, and thrashed past point by Head for four, the first of three in the over. One of them could very easily have been a wicket instead, but he chops into the ground and just past his stumps, but the third is another excellent cover drive. And there ends a very decent opening 10 overs from Australia.
9th over: Australia 49-0 (Finch 14, Head 32) Root gives the ball some air, and Head licks his lips, skips down the pitch and spears the ball through the covers again.
8th over: Australia 43-0 (Finch 14, Head 27) Head has turned on the run tap and now they’re really flowing. Another boundary here, pocked through the covers, and at the end of Willey’s over England hand the ball to Root.
7th over: Australia 38-0 (Finch 13, Head 23) Another lovely straight drive from Head brings another four runs, and then he gets four more past square leg. Meanwhile Sky have already treated us to shots of Lumley Castle, scene of, well, here’s an excerpt from the appropriate Joy of Six:
What do you get when you combine the hulking figure of Australian all-rounder Shane Watson curled into the foetal position on Brett Lee’s hotel room floor at Lumley Castle and the haunting spectre of a 14th century ghost? One of cricket’s greatest mental images, that’s what. Oh for some Blair Witch-style shaky video recorder footage of the Aussie cricketer delivering a teeth-chattering monologue direct to camera with night-vision illuminating his petrified stare.
Related: The Joy of Six: sports ghost stories
6th over: Australia 28-0 (Finch 13, Head 13) Boundaries here for both batsmen, Head hitting past mid-on and Finch through the covers, two good shots. Australia are in simultaneous World Cup action, currently drawing 1-1 with Denmark with 25 minutes to play.
Related: World Cup 2018: Denmark v Australia – live!
5th over: Australia 19-0 (Finch 9, Head 8) So this is a promising start. England haven’t taken a wicket but have threatened to do so, both batsmen have played a couple of decent shots, and game appears to be on. Wood’s over starts with a wide – more of a high, really.
4th over: Australia 14-0 (Finch 8, Head 5) Head spears Willey’s opening delivery through the covers for four. Later the ball sets off across the batsman, comes back a fraction and thumps his pads. There’s a loud appeal, but on first viewing it looked to be going high and probably wide as well, and the umpire is unmoved – though ball tracking later reveals that it would have clipped the top of leg stump.
3rd over: Australia 10-0 (Finch 8, Head 1) Dropped! Finch cracks the ball hard to square leg, where Alex Hales dives to his right, flings out a right hand, holds it, brings it into his body, comes back to earth, and sees it squirm out of his hand, lodge between his shoulder and the crook of his arm, and then drop out entirely. Still, a maiden.
In his ODI career, Finch averages 41 and scores at 5.17rpo against right-arm seam. Conversely, against left-arm seam, he averages just 22 and scores at 4.93rpo #ENGvAUS
2nd over: Australia 10-0 (Finch 8, Head 1) Willey’s first delivery is straight and a bit short, bounces into Finch and attempts to chop him in half. It cracks into his waist and bounces away from an apparently unruffled batsman, who a few balls later produces a lovely cover drive, which slows up on the outfield and yields three.
1st over: Australia 5-0 (Finch 5, Head 0) Mark Wood, on home turf, opens the bowling, and his first delivery is pulled away for four by Finch. On Sky, Bumble informs us that Australia are on course for a total of 1,200. By the end of the over, which brings just a single, that’s down to 250.
The players are out, so is the sun, and the flags are flapping as the players come out. Action imminent!
Today’s teams in full:
England Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, David Willey, Craig Overton, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
Australia Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Tim Paine (capt & wk), Ashton Agar, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Lyon, Billy Stanlake.
Adam Collins runs through Australia’s changes. “Australia won the toss and will bat. Laughs all around (including from Paine, to be fair). Three changes. Carey, Lyon and Neser in. Maxwell out with a shoulder injury, Tye and Short dropped.”
Three changes for the Aussies. IN: Carey, Neser, Lyon. OUT: Short, Maxwell (shoulder injury), Tye. #ENGvAUS
Eoin Morgan would have put Australia in, so he’s happy. “I think realising that it’s a different day, different conditions, you’ve got to work tremendously hard to beat this Australia team. The bowlers have the opportunity to set the tone, and hopefully restrict Australia to something we can chase. I think conditions will be different, and how we adapt to them will determine how we do in the game.”
Australia win the toss, and this time Tim Paine decides to bat. “It looks a little bit dry underneath. We’ve also brought Nathan Lyon in so we want to give him a chance later on tonight. We had a good long chat about things yesterday and tried to learn as much as possible. Today’s a new game. We’ve got to come in with a positive mindset and see what we can do.” Lyon is one of three changes.
Some team news is filtering through: Craig Overton will make his ODI debut for England, with Jake Ball and Tom Curran both injured.
England already have the series in the bag. Last time out they smashed the world record ODI score and subjected Tim Paine, the Australia captain, to the “hardest day of cricket I’ve ever had in my life”. Still, he spotted a silver lining around the great big, extremely dark cloud. “As bad as it seems and it feels right now, this can be a really big positive for us going forward,” he said, “that we have gone through a day like this and the guys realise the sun comes up tomorrow and we get another crack at England in two days’ time.” When the big positive after a massive thrashing is the fact you get to play the team that just thrashed you again in a few hours, there really aren’t many positives to be had.
The highest ODI total in 15 matches held at Durham is a meagre 307-5, scored by England against New Zealand 10 years and a week ago. So there’s one record there for the taking. The first time England played Australia there, in 2005, they scored 209-9 from their full allocation of 50 overs. On Tuesday they overtook that tally four balls past the halfway stage on their way to a total so enormous that even if Australia bat first today they will still, two days later and in an entirely different match, be feeling the scoreboard pressure.
Related: England’s Alex Hales expects 500-run barrier in ODIs to be broken soon
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