Australia held on for their first win over England in the 5-match ODI series by sealing the fourth match at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.
The hosts chased down the target of 197 runs in 37 overs losing seven wickets in the process. Travis Head scored a superb 96 runs after replacing injured opener Aaron Finch to seal the deal for Steve Smith’s side. Head anchored a shaky Australian run chase and fell just shy of a deserved century and with victory imminent.
Australia win by three wickets on the back of their early bowling efforts and Travis Head's 96, but the chase was a lot closer than they might have liked! 😳
Scores ➡️ https://t.co/i9SiSlksbv pic.twitter.com/pdnjbBfqXp
— ICC (@ICC) January 26, 2018
Eoin Morgan’s England could not handle the rush of pace upfront being sent in to bat in bowler-friendly conditions, losing four of their top six batsmen for noughts but managed to put up a decent 196 on board. In reply, Australia struggled to win their first game in the five-match series and turn around their dismal recent one-day form. England had already pocketed the series by taking an unbeatable 3-0 lead in S
Australia cross the line unconvincingly
The Aussies kept losing wickets at regular intervals as David Warner, Cameron White and Steve Smith all faltered cheaply. Head batted on and stitched on a 52-run stand with Mitchell Marsh. That partnership brought the hosts back in the game after they wobbled in crucial stages.
Marsh (32) and Marcus Stoinis (14) fell both to Adil Rashid and the Aussies were reeling At 5-137. The Australians needed another 60 to win but moved to 180 runs. Head looked certain to notch his second limited-overs century as Australia closed in on victory, but pulled a short ball from Mark Wood straight to Morgan at mid-on, having faced 107 balls and hit 15 fours. But Tim Paine (25*) stayed on until the end to ensure a rare victory for the Aussies.
STAT ATTACK:
- The Aussies notched just one win in their past 11 completed ODIs
- Cummins claimed career-best ODI figures of 4-24
Australian captain Steve Smith admitted it wasn’t the most convincing of wins. “Nice to get over the line, a pretty ordinary (batting) display,” he said, noting that the start to the English innings decided the match. It all happened pretty quickly for a moment there, five for eight you’d take any day.”
Rot set in early for the tourists
The home side as the tourists lost five wickets with just eight runs on the board. Jason Roy, who got England rolling in the series with a record-breaking 180 in the opening match, fell to the second ball of the innings, caught at point by Smith off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood for a duck. Alex Hales (3) was the second to fall, bowled off his pads by Pat Cummins.
Opener Jonny Bairstow was caught behind from the bowling of Hazlewood for a duck, and Test captain Joe Root also fell without scoring, caught on the fine leg boundary after top-edging a hook shot from the bowling of Cummins. Jos Buttler, coming off a match-winning century in Sydney, became the fourth batsman dismissed without scoring, caught behind from the bowling of Hazlewood as England collapsed.
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ |
| J Hazlewood | 10 | 39 | 3 | 3.90 |
| P Cummins | 10 | 24 | 4 | 2.40 |
| A Tye | 7.5 | 33 | 3 | 4.33 |
However, Woakes picked up where he left off in an unbeaten half-century in Sydney, and had good support from the previously out-of-form Ali and number 10 Curran. Woakes played a solid hand of 78 runs off just 82 balls. The final match of the series is in Perth on Sunday, and is a sell-out as it is the opening of the city’s new stadium.
