England vs. Australia, Natwest Series, 2nd ODI

England vs. Australia, Natwest Series, 2nd ODI

The question on everybody's mind was, "Can lightning strike twice?" Like the truism, it can happen, but you still don't want to put money on it. England were 1 up in the series, already some way to erasing the humiliation of last year's 6-1 thrashing. Australia have never been used to the taste of defeat, and the strategic placement of this series - after the World Cup final loss to England and before the Ashes - meant that every result would be seen in a larger context. Being one down to England added pressure - and incentive - on Australia to draw blood.

 

Shane Watson started proceedings by plundering 12 runs from James Anderson's opening over. He and Tim Paine mixed aggression with some unorthodox batting, before Paine became Stuart Broad's 100th ODI victim for 16. Broad became the youngest England player to 100 ODI wickets, and he followed it up with the vital scalps Ricky Ponting (13) and Michael Clarke (1), to leave Australia wobbling at 77/3 in the 17th over. Watson muscled his way to 50 off 49 balls, but fell shortly afterwards to Luke Wright, and James Anderson made up for his wayward start by removing Mike Hussey for 14. Australia in trouble at 118/5, but Cameron White and Steven Smith's 84-run consolidation saved the visitors a lot of blushes. White's 50 came in 70 balls, and Smith made 41 before Luke Wright had him caught by Paul Collingwood at cover. White clubbed some boundaries off the last two overs to reach 86, in the process propping Australia up to a defendable, but subpar, 237/7.

 

Craig Kieswetter got things off to a good start for England, looting consecutive boundaries off opening bowler Doug Bollinger. Clint McKay, bowling for the first time in England, conceded a no-ball, 6, no-ball and 4 in his first over, and England were already 23 after the second over. Bollinger struck to remove Kieswetter the next over, bringing Kevin Pietersen to the crease. He made a quick 38 before falling to an acrobatic leaping catch by Ricky Ponting (91/2). Strauss brought up his run-a-ball 50 in the next over, also passing 3,000 ODI runs (not at the same time). He didn't last too much longer, chipping a catch back to Nathan Hauritz in the 20th over. England 109/3, but it brought their new hero Eoin Morgan to the crease. Paul Collingwood crossed a milestone of his own, becoming England's highest ODI scorer, passing Alec Stewart's 4,677 runs. He eventually played on to Doug Bollinger for 48, bringing an end to an 83-run partnership with Morgan, who scored his second consecutive 50 (against Australia, no less). Luke Wright biffed a couple of boundaries before playing on himself to James Hopes, and Morgan was gone the next over for 52 to leave England at a tricky 211/6. Only 29 needed, but with two new batsmen at the crease, Australia sniffed a chance. Nothing doing, said Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann, who finished proceedings with a blasted 6 off Clint McKay to seal victory by 4 wickets.

 

So lightning does strike twice, and Australia find themselves looking at a 3-0 series defeat. Even though it was a composed and collected batting effort from England, Australia were far too sloppy with the ball, conceding 23 extras from no-balls and free hits. Credit where due, though, and Eoin Morgan continues to impress. Scoring 155 in two games is never easy, but doing it against Australia is unheard of (unless your first name is Sachin). With two victories in two games, can England dare to dream of a 3-0 series victory over their ancient enemies? Or will Ricky Ponting's young team prove that with Australia, it's never over until the final ball, the final run, or the final wicket?