AUSTRALIA TOUR OF ENGLAND 2020
Australia haunted 302 after Maxwell and Carey centuries. © Getty
An exciting encounter took place in Manchester in England’s final match of the summer at home in 2020. Australia, down in a stage with 73 of 5 on the board in pursuit of 303, staged a notable victory after Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey scored 212 for the sixth wicket to lead the visitors to a triple wicket win and win the series 2-1.
Both Carey and Jofra Archer will be on the same flight tomorrow when they board for the Indian Premier League. It wouldn’t be surprising if you both think back to the incident on 20 when the pacemaker caught Carey in the third man. Archer, however, had thrown a huge no-ball and gave the southpaw, who was hitting nine, a breather.
Despite being on a wobble, both Carey and Maxwell continued to seek limits and kept the order rate around seven. There was another opportunity when Maxwell was brought down by Jos Buttler with the batter at 44. Australia, like England, lost ground in a group. Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis fell early to Chris Woakes, while Joe Root edged out David Warner and Mitchell Marsh. Marnus Labuschagne’s career left Australia gasping, but they found their heroes in Maxwell and Carey to walk away with a series win after the previous T20I series loss.
While Maxwell was at his belligerent prime, Carey worked his way up from the start and finally found his groove. Crucial limits at timely intervals meant that England could never really raise the pressure. Maxwell, after Jonny Bairstow, became the second hitter in the game to reach his century with a six. He hit his second ton of ODI with 84 balls with the challenge done and dusted by then. Carey upped his ton of single ODI in the following 106+ installments as Eoin Morgan and Co. watched the game slip away.
Of course, there was some late drama. Maxwell fell to Australia needing 18 and Carey fell to leave the visitors with 10 in the final. Mitchell Starc hit a six on the first ball before taking the team home.
Earlier in the day, Bairstow’s 10th century ODI helped England record a total of fights with Sam Billings and Woakes scoring half a century. However, things got off to a rocky start when Starc eliminated Jason Roy and Joe Root with the first two installments of the match. As Roy spliced a wide delivery to the point, the Test captain got caught up front by a duck. Despite the start, Bairstow and Eoin Morgan held their ground on the fold and even managed to counterattack.
The fifth, sixth and seventh surpassed more than ten races as England finished the PowerPlay with 67 on the board. The pacemakers looked flat, but Zampa’s introduction helped Aaron Finch get better control of things. Morgan dropped to the 11th most when he crushed a blown delivery in half. Job Buttler settled in, but did not get going, as his stay took him to England only eight. At 96 out of 4, England were in danger of finishing below par.
Billings, fresh out of a century of boosting confidence in the first game, did well to settle down and score at a rapid pace. He landed his fourth half century and scored 114 for the fifth wicket with Bairstow. The starter, meanwhile, hit his century with 116 balls with a daring crush of Pat Cummins for a max.
An ill-timed reverse sweep against Zampa sent Billings away by 57 as England looked ready to move on in the final ten overs. Cummins landed a crucial blow when his pitch again knocked out Bairstow at 41st. Woakes and Tom Curran added 46 for the seventh wicket, but Starc ended the frustrating save at 47. Australia, however, will be a bit disappointed as the bottom order of the hosts managed to score 82 runs in the last ten overs with Woakes. (51 not out) doing most of the damage.
Quick Scores: England 302/7 in 50 overs (Jonny Bairstow 116; Adam Zampa 3-51, 3-74) lost to Australia 305/7 at 49.4 overs (Glenn Maxwell 108, Alex Carey 106) over three wickets.
© Cricbuzz
