1st ODI
Australia 304/8
England 308/5
England win by 5 wickets
That’s one way to secure your first proper win of an Australia tour. The Ashes may be gone but England kicked off the one-day internationals with the most thumping of five-wicket wins in the first of a five-game series. For that, they have Jason Roy to thank. Chasing 305 for victory, Roy pillaged 180 of them on his own, carving 16 fours and five sixes to set a new record for the highest score by an Englishman in ODIs, beating Alex Hales’ 171 set against Pakistan in 2016.
Earlier, a ninth ODI hundred by the Australia opener Aaron Finch looked to have ensured an even tussle. His 112-ball effort was measured and serene, powerful but crafted as by a carpenter. For each heave there were a few deft touches. Roy, by contrast, was a man with a chainsaw in each hand taking down a forest.
Roy’s first 50 came from a chaotic 32 balls, in which he was responsible for 12 of the 15 boundaries England managed in their first 10 overs. Fifty to 100 was a more treacherous affair.
The middle of his bat became elusive as shots plinked and plugged in the vast outfield. On 91, he misread the line of a ball from the leg-spinner Adam Zampa and was adjudged LBW. On review, the ball was shown to have hit his pad outside the line while Roy was playing a shot. The umpire’s decision was overturned and he blitzed Zampa’s next ball for six, just out of the reach of long on. On 97, he ran three off his 94th delivery for a fourth ODI hundred.
His final 80 runs were a collection of nifty reverse sweeps, hacks and a towering skip-and-slap down the ground. He would depart as he arrived, swiping with disdain but this time to the substitute fielder Jhye Richardson at square leg. It brought to an end a fine partnership with Joe Root – 221, now the highest third-wicket stand for England in ODIs. Root ensured he was on hand to see the job home, finishing unbeaten on 91 – an unconverted fifty that won’t bother him at all.
There was a Sliding Doors theme at the start, when the first ball of the match was hit for four. It was the 1,003rd competitive delivery Chris Woakes has sent down on this tour and was driven back past him by Finch. By contrast, Mark Wood’s first threatened to pierce David Warner’s right ear, skidding off the pitch and forcing the left-hander to flinch for the first time in three months. Wood’s third drew a tough catching chance at cover before he squared Warner up two balls later to find the shoulder of the bat for a simple catch to Joe Root at second slip, the opener falling for two.
England fans were already thumbing through the pages of an Ashes tragedy in their minds, desperate to get the red pen out. Their frustrations are shared by Wood himself, who felt fit and ready for the last three Tests but was seemingly unable to convince the England and Wales Cricket Board that his ankle could cope with the required work. Woakes, by contrast, still has not found the rhythm that was robbed from him by a side injury sustained during the ICC Champions Trophy in the English summer. His economy rate of 6.5 was less than Liam Plunkett’s 7.2, but the latter was more effective, with three wickets to Woakes’s one.
Over the course of Wood’s opening five-over spell, he showed flashes of what England have been missing: extracting movement off a flat surface and testing Australia’s top order with pace.
A solid start was made a little rosier when Adil Rashid somehow dismissed Steve Smith via an inside edge in what must rank as one of the leg-spinner’s worst overs for England. Smuggled between a handful of long-hops and a couple of wides was a neat googly that caught the Australia captain by surprise. However, Rashid was unable to use the prize scalp as inspiration, eventually conceding 73 runs off his 10 overs, including five sixes, though he did return a second wicket when he bowled Mitchell Marsh for 50.
When Finch fell to Moeen Ali (the most economical of England’s bowlers, with one for 39), Marcus Stoinis (60) went on to push Australia to 304 for eight. Unfortunately for them, Roy made that look plenty short.
2nd ODI
Australia 270/9 (50 ov)
England 274/6 (44.2/50 ov)
England won by 4 wickets (with 34 balls remaining)
England came into this series wanting to win in different ways. So after a dominant performance in the first ODI, a nippier chase on an uncharacteristic Brisbane pitch is one to add to the portfolio. A four-wicket win with 34 balls remaining has given them a 2-0 lead in the series. This is only their second win in eight ODIs at this venue.
Australia opted to bat first and drop their only spinner. So when England used three of their own, bowling the second-highest number of deliveries by spinners in an ODI in this country, the hosts knew something was not quite right. The pitch was more Chandigarh than Gabbatoir.
Even given Australia’s duff selection, Mitchell Starc threatened to save them. Starting his last over in the 38th, with 45 to defend, Joe Root and Jos Buttler set and six-wickets still to go, he found Buttler’s outside edge, then Moeen Ali’s middle stump, leaving England with a far less comfortable 43 to get with four wickets in hand. Chris Woakes ensured a smooth finale with a swift 39 not out, while Joe Root added another measure red-inker (46no) to go with his unbeaten 91 at the MCG.
Jason Roy, in his 50th ODI, fell for only two after his 180 in Melbourne, yet England were still able to rattle Australia’s attack with Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales combining for 117 off 112 balls to break the back of the chase. While Bairstow and Hales brought up their half-centuries in style – 41-ball and 52-ball efforts reached with a four and six down the ground, respectively – there was minor alarm when both fell in the space of 13 balls, turning 119 for one into 129 for two. That partnership, in essence, allowed a stop-start middle.
It looked like your typical Gabba ODI pitch: a sweat-stained white shirt shade of mock concrete which, they say, offers something for bowlers early on. That “something” amounted to two deliveries in Woakes’ first over. Warner and Aaron Finch then thrashing a hlaf-century opening stand in under nine overs. However, Moeen’s introduction at the end of the Power Play, conceding just two singles off the 10th, got Eoin Morgan thinking. When Ali had Warner (35) caught at slip that brought a change of tack.
Morgan packed away the quicks. It might have gone against convention, like rummaging around for a pair of flip flops for an English January morning, but there was enough to suggest the open-toed approach in usually hostile spin conditions was the way forward. A penny for Australia’s thoughts, who dropped Adam Zampa, the leg-spinner, for batsman Cameron White.
Root (two for 31) ended up being the pick of the bowlers, taking two for 31 from seven overs. He removed Steve Smith lbw, then, Travis Head caught and bowled. Rarely has part-time off-spin from an English hand been treated with such fear. It ensured a boundary-less 55-ball period between the 15th and 24th over which restricted Australia to 33 runs.
Even with a second Finch ODI hundred in as many games which, again, involved time in the middle with Mitchell Marsh, Australia were unable to learn lessons from the MCG.
Again, both fell in quick succession – this time both in the space of five balls rather than 12. Marsh gave Adil Rashid the first of his two wickets when he was stumped off a big leg-spinner, before Finch went for 106 (one less than he managed in the first ODI) becoming Liam Plunkett’s 100th ODI wicket.
Everything Morgan and England tried came good. Even the inordinate stock placed in the team’s pre-match football paid dividends, as Woakes slotted home from close range to catch keeper Alex Carey off his line for an enterprising 27 on debut. That was the only threat of pushing Australia above par. Reaching for that big finish, the hosts lost six for 62 in the last 11 overs.
3rd ODI
England 302/6 (50 ov)
Australia 286/6 (50 ov)
England won by 16 runs
Jos Buttler's stunning century and a composed all-round effort with the ball helped England clinch the ODI series with two matches to play. Although Marcus Stoinis kept Australia in the hunt until the final over, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes closed the game out with another smart display of death bowling.
England had been struggling on 6 for 189 when Buttler and Woakes came together but they put on an unbroken 113-run stand to take the total beyond 300. Buttler reached his fifth one-day hundred from the last ball of the innings as England made far more than had looked likely. He then took a contentious catch to dismiss Steven Smith at a key point in the chase as England held on to go 3-0 up.
Buttler started steadily but dismantled Australia's pace attack in the final overs, at one point effortlessly heaving back-to-back sixes off Pat Cummins before following up with consecutive boundaries later in the over. Such was the Midas nature of his touch that even when he dug out a Mitchell Starc yorker it yielded four runs.
Buttler, on 97, was almost denied a century when umpire Chris Gaffaney raised his finger for an lbw shout from Starc but the replay left no doubt the ball had ricocheted off the bat before hitting the pad. In an eventful final over, Woakes brought up his half-century with a pull for six before Buttler reached his century with a hard run two off the final delivery of the innings.
Australia hit by over-rate fine
Australia have been fined for a slow over-rate after being ruled two overs behind at the SCG. It leaves captain Steven Smith one repeat offence away from a suspension.
Smith has been fined 40% of his match fee, while his players have received 20% fines.
Australia took 27 minutes more than allocated to bowl their 50 overs as England made 302 for 6, but were not judged to be as far behind as may have been feared after the umpires took time allowances into account.
Set 303 for victory, Australia were stifled by an England bowling attack that rallied after Liam Plunkett was struck down with an injury.
Plunkett left the field with a hamstring problem that caused him to pull up just before his delivery stride in the 12th over of Australia's innings. His departure from the field in his second over left England's attack a bowler short and forced Eoin Morgan to turn to Joe Root's part-time spin to make up the overs.
But Australia's chase had stuttered early on with the loss of David Warner, out chipping Woakes to extra cover, and Cameron White, who feathered a Wood delivery to Buttler.
That left the responsibility of steering the initial chase to Aaron Finch, who top-scored for Australia with 62 off 53 balls but was unable to reach his third century of the series. Finch pre-meditated a sweep shot to an Adil Rashid delivery that deceived with its extra pace and rapped the pads and after his departure the run rate required gradually increased.
As was the case with England earlier, the Australian batsmen made starts but found it difficult to convert those to big totals or to score quickly on a slowish pitch. Stoinis attempted to lift the run-rate in the latter stage of the innings with a brisk half-century but he fell heaving Woakes to deep square leg in the final over.
The match wasn't without controversial moments, particularly when Wood claimed the coveted wicket of Smith. Smith edged the ball low and to the right of Buttler, who took a one-handed grab. But the decision was sent to the third umpire, Kumar Dharmasena, to judge whether or not the catch was taken cleanly. After a lengthy period examining the replays, Dharmasena was unable to find conclusive evidence to overturn the soft signal of out and the on-field decision was upheld. Smith, clearly unhappy with the decision, walked back to the pavilion amid a loud chorus of booing from the crowd.
During the match, television footage was also widely shared on social media that showed Smith shining the ball after touching his lips but the umpires did not appear to have any issue with the condition of the ball. After the match Smith said he was not wearing any lip balm.
England had won the first two matches chasing down Australia's totals and perhaps that was on Smith's mind when he elected to bowl after winning the toss.
First-choice quicks Cummins and Josh Hazlewood returned in place of Jhye Richardson and Andrew Tye and, despite toiling on a slowish pitch and bowling several wide deliveries early on, their impact was evident in the opening stages of the innings.
England finished the first ten overs with 47 runs on the board for the loss of two wickets, by far their worst Powerplay figures of the series - they were 2 for 87 and 1 for 60 at the same point in the first and second ODIs, respectively. After losing early wickets, Jonny Bairstow and Root batted for more than ten overs without scoring a boundary as Australia's fast bowlers applied consistent pressure.
Cummins' first over was a maiden that pinned Jason Roy to the crease and in his next over Cummins got his reward when Roy slashed a full delivery outside off stump to Finch at extra cover. Alex Hales' time in the middle was brief and ended with a similarly soft dismissal, a mistimed drive off Stoinis lobbed directly to Adam Zampa at mid-on.
Australia had gone into the second ODI in Brisbane without a specialist spinner and, while a growing number of commentators and former players have questioned the absence of Nathan Lyon in the 50-over format, Zampa returned to the team in place of Travis Head and claimed the wicket of Bairstow with a well-executed googly.
Apart from Hales, England's top order made starts but Australia's bowlers were patient and struck regularly just as the batsmen seemed set. Root, who was presented with his 100th ODI cap by England and South Sydney rugby league player Sam Burgess, played on against Hazlewood for 29, while Morgan departed for 41, edging the same bowler behind just as he had started to accelerate the run rate.
Morgan was given a life on 19 when he was dropped by Smith, who put down a difficult chance while diving to his left at midwicket. But the dubious honour of the biggest howler of the innings went to White, who watched a skied ball from Moeen Ali off Mitchell Marsh drop between his hands and chest. Moeen had been dropped in a strikingly similar fashion by Hazlewood at the SCG during the fifth Ashes Test but, as in that match and throughout a disappointing tour, he was unable to capitalise and was out dragging a Marsh delivery on to his stumps soon after.
But England's much-lauded depth in batting gave them a late surge, with Buttler and Woakes combining brilliantly as the shadows lengthened for a rollicking partnership that lifted England to a total that had seemed well out of reach.
4th ODI
England 196 (44.5/50 ov)
Australia 197/7 (37/50 ov)
Australia won by 3 wickets (with 78 balls remaining)
Travis Head hit 96 to guide Australia to a three-wicket win in the fourth one-day international as a terrible start cost England at Adelaide.
The tourists fell to 8-5 in swinging conditions, before a superb 78 from Chris Woakes saw them recover to post 196 all out, Pat Cummins taking 4-24.
Australia wobbled at times in reply, but the recalled Head proved a steady presence after a skittish start.
He fell short of a ton but had done enough to ensure his side edged home.
Eoin Morgan's England team had already secured the five-match series with victory in Sydney and now lead 3-1, with the final ODI in Perth on Sunday.
5th ODI
England 259 (47.4/50 ov)
Australia 247 (48.2/50 ov)
England won by 12 runs
The opening match at Perth’s new Optus Stadium saw its first five-wicket haul courtesy of Western Australia’s own Andrew Tye’s five for 46 and even its first streaker. But it will have to wait a little longer for its first Australian win thanks to a virtuoso performance from Tom Curran, who bettered Tye with five for 35 and snuck England to a 12-run win in the fifth and final ODI.
His two Tests might have come a bit too soon in his career, but Curran’s stock as one of the most exciting limited-overs quicks in English cricket was clear for all to see. The 22-year-old held his nerve, nailed his yorkers and ensured England took an ODI series they dominated as convincingly as the 4-1 scoreline suggests. This was the Surrey quick’s maiden five-for in the format.
Tye’s maiden ODI five-for came moments before he was sold to Kings XI Punjab in the IPL auction for $1.4m AUS (just over £800,000). He had given Australia a target of 260 that began, in earnest, when Marcus Stoinis walked out at number three. On 87, he was caught superbly in the deep by Curran off an Adil Rashid full toss which brought England back into contention at 189 for five, with 71 required from the final 90 balls.
Curran used the opportunity to put on a reverse swing clinic that trapped Glenn Maxwell in front and then squared up Mitchell Starc to find an edge through to Jos Buttler in the 37th over.
In his next over, Tye was dropped by Jonny Bairstow, who had earlier robbed Curran of a wicket in the second over of Australia’s chase when Travis Head was shelled at first slip. Luckily, Moeen Ali accounted for Tye having previously dismissed Mitchell Marsh with a brilliant instinctive caught and bowled chance, but then he, too, had a catch dropped off his bowling: Tim Paine chipping to Alex Hales at long on who couldn’t do his bit.
With 25 needed from the last 24 balls, Curran returned to bowl Adam Zampa with yorker. However, a sickly Jake Ball conceded 11 runs off the 48th over. As the ask dropped to 13 from 11, Curran dug deep for one last time to breach the defence of Paine for five-wickets of his own.
The pitch was a green-tinged Waca tribute surface – a drop-in pitch, as is the way with newer cricket stadia in this part of the world. The dimensions of the oval itself were such that the first scoring shot, off the very first ball, was an all-run four to Jason Roy. The opener didn’t have to do much running after that, finding the rope with ease an ensuring, this time, England were 54-0 after 6.3 overs rather than the comical eight for five they were in the previous ODI in Adelaide.
On 20, he was caught behind off Starc. However, no part of Starc’s front foot was behind the line and Roy used the life to blitz his way to 38 from 26 balls, before slowing up with just 11 off his next 20 deliveries leading to a airy, frustrated drive, caught at mid on for Tye’s first.
It was at this point – 71-1 in the 12th over – that Australia wised up. Mitchell Marsh came into the attack and, as the pitch started to develop a hint of inconsistency, used his short ball to removing Hales via a hook deflecting off the batsman’s helmet.
Tye’s array of slower and knuckle balls accounted for the middle order. He pinned Joe Root in the chest - a blow that might have stung as much as the Test skipper’s IPL spurn. Root notched his 26th ODI fifty to cap an impressive 226-run series, top-scoring with 62, before falling to Tye. A yorker to Jake Ball closed England’s innings on 259 and gave Tye his fifth wicket.
The script was written for a hometown, newly-made millionaire to cap off a special occasion. Curran, though, had no intention of letting a good story get in the way of a maginificent win.
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