England 278 for 6 beat Bangladesh 277 for 6 by 4 wickets
Hold the pose and watch the ball disappear down the ground high into the crowd. Such was the perfect manner in which Chris Woakes settled a wonderful one-day series. Little speaks more highly of England than the fact they turned up in Bangladesh the first place but, having turned up, they fulfilled their aims on the field as they ended Bangladesh's run of six successive series wins in ODIs on home soil.
Bangladesh have an impressive lists of conquests to their name, but they have still not beaten England in a bilateral series, losing this one 2-1 as they went down in Chittagong by four wickets with seven balls to spare. Their 277 for 6 looked formidable on a slow pitch that turned substantially for Adil Rashid as he took ODI-best figures of 4 for 43. But the pitch quickened slightly as the dew fell, their finger spinners failed to find the same purchase and England met the run chase with imagination and maturity.
When Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales withdrew from the Bangladesh tour because of safety concerns, England made it clear that there would be no retribution, while stressing that nothing could be taken entirely for granted: life moves on was the gist from Andrew Strauss, MD of England cricket.
Life has moved on, not enough to exclude them - Morgan will skipper on the ODI leg in India - but after this victory it will be enough for England to contemplate their deepening batting options with mounting excitement as they prepare to host the Champions Trophy and World Cup in forthcoming years.
Ben Duckett and Sam Billings, two batsmen to benefit from others' absence, were prominent figures in England's successful chase. Both lodged half-centuries that represented their best England ODI scores. Duckett's, his second of the series, again built on a county season that brought him player-of-the-year recognition, while Billings played with zest as he capitalised on Jason Roy's absence from the top of the order because of injury.
Considering the shenanigans in the second match in Mirpur, after which the match referee doled out two fines and a reprimand, it was perhaps fortunate early in England's run chase that it was Billings who collided with Mashrafe Mortaza, the bowler, who wandered into his path as he sought a second run. Some well-modulated, polite protest sorted that one out. A swept six against Mashrafe announced that he was set and the shot continued to sustain him until, on 62, it also brought his downfall when he top-edged Mosaddek Hossain to deep square.
Billings has dash; Duckett scores quickly without you entirely noticing. He is an inventive cricketer, able to expose the field with a mix of sweeps, ramps and inside-out drives; a stout batsman with a permanently puzzled expression that might have been sketched for Toy Story. In one-day cricket, perhaps in Tests too, he can become a favourite. He perished to a ramp shot against Shafiul Islam, an alert keeper's catch for Mushfiqur Rahim.
With James Vince having fallen lbw in Nasir Hossain's first over and Bairstow bowled by Shafiul, misjudging the length as he tried to pull, England were 99 short with 19 overs by the time Jos Buttler reached the crease. A slower ball from Mashrafe silenced him, then Moeen Ali chipped him feebly to mid-on. But Ben Stokes played with restraint and, only when Woakes was put down by Imrul Kayes at first slip off Taskin Ahmed - a head-high catch with 21 needed from 21 balls - did England feel that momentum was with them.
Ben Stokes eased any tension towards the end of England's chase © Getty Images
Perhaps influenced by the heated exchanges in Mirpur, even if only sub consciously, England had recalled Liam Plunkett, their most aggressive fast bowler, as a mid-innings enforcer. It was the wrong call. The Chittagong pitch was so slow that it was no time to be The Enforcer - even Dirty Harry would have taken the day off - but it turned from the outset. Liam Dawson, the Hampshire allrounder, must have rued a missed opportunity to bowl his left-arm spinner on a surface like this.
Fortunately for England, Rashid had the sort of day when the heavens bestowed kindness upon him. Two long hops and a full toss accounted for three of his wickets and, on each occasion, his raised index finger looked like an exercise in positive thinking rather than a gesture of unadulterated triumph. But he turned the ball bigger than anybody and that contributed to his sense of threat, enough to take the Man-of-the-Match award. And he is England's leading wicket-taker in ODIs this year.
By the time that England had dispensed with the openers, Imrul and Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh would have felt quite settled at 106 for 2 in the 23rd over. Tamim became the first Bangladesh batsman to reach 5,000 ODI runs with a collector's item - swatting a bouncer from Woakes in front of square. But reputations shift and it was the wicket of Imrul that England most hankered after, illustrated by a wasted review when he was 31 as they searched unsuccessfully for a hint of glove as he reverse swept Moeen. Stokes broke the stand, Imrul clipping him to square leg.
Rashid then took four of the next five wickets to fall, repeatedly stymieing Bangladesh's ambitions. Tamim, reaching for a short ball, got it as far as Vince at cover; Mahmudullah hit another long hop in the same direction. Sabbir Rahman, at least, received the high-class kill his sprightly innings deserved as Butter held an edge off a fierce leg break. Nasir Hossain was Rashid's last victim, this time courtesy of a full toss sinking faster than the pound.
Moeen wicket also possessed fortune as he defeated the left-hander, Shakib Al Hasan, on the outside edge and was stumped by Buttler who inadvertently flapped the ball onto the stumps and was fortunate that the bails fell off before he crashed his gloves into the timber.
Bangladesh held their nerve as 10 overs elapsed without a boundary and by the end of the innings Mosaddek and Mushfiqur had been rewarded with an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 85 in 12 overs.
Mushfiqur's unbeaten 67 from 62 balls was his first half-century in 21 knocks, with England blowing two good chances to remove him. He might have been run out on 26 when Mosaddek sent him back but Bairstow missed. Then on 44 he struck Woakes down the ground but Stokes, having made good ground for the catch, had four bites before putting it down. With a bat in his hand, and a series to win, Stokes was to allow no such liberties.
South Africa 327/8 (50.0 ov)
Australia 296 (48.2 ov)
South Africa won by 31 runs
South Africa inflicted a first-ever five-match ODI series whitewash on Australia with an tense victory that underlined the main difference between the two sides. Not only was Australia's inexperienced attack unable to challenge South Africa's batsmen, but their batting line-up, bar David Warner, could not keep up either.
Warner scored his second century of the series and was Australia's only real hope of pulling off the highest successful chase at Newlands to take home a consolation win after Rilee Rossouw's third ODI century - a 118-ball 122 - propelled South Africa to 327 for 8. Warner's 173 was six short of a career-best, but could have ended on 11 when he edged Kagiso Rabada to slip. Quinton de Kock dived in front of Hashim Amla and spilled the chance. Warner made South Africa pay, but he lacked proper support.
Aaron Finch partnered Warner in a 72-run opening stand, but a double strike from Imran Tahir and a wicket to Andile Phehlukwayo saw Australia lose three wickets for just two runs. Travis Head then shared a 90-run fifth-wicket stand with Warner, but by then the required run rate had escalated to over eight an over with 23 overs left.
South Africa had not scored that quickly at any stage but were consistently attacking, thanks largely toRossouw. Brought into the squad as AB de Villier's replacement and used in every match, he topped up on his twin half-centuries from the opening two matches by reaching three figures in this one. Rossouw shared in a 178-run fourth-wicket stand with JP Duminy to account for more than half of South Africa's total - the second highest at Newlands.
The most impressive aspect of South Africa's performance was how easily runs came. Upfront, de Kock and Hashim Amla began in imperious fashion against an inconsistent Australian new-ball attack without John Hastings. Despite being the most experienced member of the pack, Australia chose to rest him and give Joe Mennie another run, and it proved a decent decision.
Mennie recovered from his nightmare debut to pick up two quick wickets. After de Kock chipped a catch to short cover off Boland, Mennie bowled Amla with a ball that straightened to hit off stump. Two overs later, he tempted South Africa's captain Faf du Plessis into a drive and beat the inside edge onto the stumps. It would be more than 27 overs before Mennie took his next wicket, but by then Rossouw, who played a chanceless knock, was on 99.
Australia failed to apply pressure on Rossouw, who had faced just nine balls when the top three were dismissed. The first ball after du Plessis' dismissal was misfielded at mid-off and the result was four.
Mitchell Marsh bore the brunt of the assault, sometimes as a consequence of his own actions - two full-tosses in the his opening over, which went for 17 - and sometimes unavoidably. Rossouw took the first six of the innings off him, shimmying down the pitch to hit over long-on.
The spinners struggled as much as the seamers. On a flat track, legspinner Adam Zampa posed none of the same threat he had in earlier matches while Head's part-time offspin had equally little effect. Rossouw and Duminy scored quickly - Rossouw's fifty coming at a run a ball and Duminy's off 47 - and with 20 overs to go, South Africa were headed for 350.
When Rossouw reached 99, Duminy was so anxious to get him on strike that he carved a ball to backward point while trying to drive into the covers. George Bailey took the catch and Duminy missed a century of his own. Instead, it was David Miller who enjoyed mid-pitch celebrations with Rossouw before being tasked with the responsibility of finishing strongly.
Rossouw opened up after the milestone but holed out with five overs to go. Miller ushered the tail to plunder 46 runs off the last five overs. Even though Australia took three wickets in that period, they were unable to bowl South Africa out for a fifth time in the series.
Australia, with luck on their side, wiped out fifty inside eight overs. Warner was not the only one to enjoy a reprieve. Aaron Finch benefitted too when Steyn put down a chance off a top-edge, off Abbott.
Enter Tahir. His opening over included a flat delivery, a legbreak, a googly, a flipper, a slower ball, a straight one and two wickets. Finch was bowled going back to cut the flipper, and Steve Smith went the same looking to drive a straight ball. Warner brought up his fifty the ball after Smith was dismissed but Australia's cheer was shortlived as Phehlukwayo was rewarded for his accuracy when George Bailey inside-edged a full, straight ball onto his stumps.
Boundaries dried up as Australia then went 55 balls without one. Warner and Mitchell Marsh were forced to progress slowly but there seemed intent after the halfway mark as Marsh tried to step up. He pulled Rabada to deep square leg where Abbott palmed the ball over the boundary for six. Off the next ball, Marsh was ball-watching when Warner called him through for a single. A direct hit from Duminy from point would have seen Marsh run out. Two balls later, Marsh hit Rabada for six again. But the surge was shortlived when he was cleaned up by Rabada in the next over.
For every blow South Africa struck, Warner had a response. He took two fours off Rabada soon after to get into the nineties and two more off Phehlukwayo to reach 99, before bringing up a hundred off 88 balls. His celebration was subdued; he knew he had more to do.
Head proved a handy partner and put on 90 for the fifth wicket with Warner, but the sting was out of the contest until du Plessis reviewed an lbw shout against Warner off Tahir. Replays showed the ball was pitching outside leg and the over ended with Warner and Tahir in a verbal squabble. The tussle continued into the next over.
Australia entered the last ten overs needing 99 runs, but began that quest with Head skying a pull off Abbott. Matthew Wade was caught behind for 7 to leave Warner wage a lone battle. And he looked like set to drag them over the line till the 47th over.
Australia needed 41 runs from the last three overs when Warner sent the ball to deep cover where Tahir was stationed. Warner wanted a second run and took on Tahir's arm but, in a microcosm of the battle that ran throughout the series, did not win. With that went Australia's hopes too.
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