Even before it started, this third game between Australia and England was set up to be one of the more interesting cricket matches in recent memory (maybe even since the Twenty20 World Cup final between these two teams). After ruling cricket with an iron paw for a decade and a half, Australia had gradually been ceding territory to their old enemy - first losing the Ashes in 2009, then losing the Twenty20 final, and now facing a 3-0 scoreline to England, of all teams. This, the (more or less) same Australian team which humbled the (more or less) same England team 6-1 only a year ago.
So when Shane Watson powerfully pulled James Anderson for 4 in the first over, it seemed like we had a fight on our hands. Tim Paine looked bogged down a little, but he eventually settled in and looted 18 runs off a Tim Bresnan over. With that, Australia were away. Anderson was the only bowler to keep things tight, with Bresnan, Stuart Broad and Luke Wright all leaking runs. Australia were 75/0 in in the 14th over when Michael Yardy came on to bowl. He trapped Paine dead in front (for 44) with just his third delivery, giving England the vital breakthrough. Ricky Ponting lasted sixteen balls for his 3, before Graeme Swann had him stumped with a wide down the legside( 92/2 after 18 overs). Yardy and Swann combined to strangle the Australians, Swann getting Shane Watson for 61 (130/3). Cameron White has been known to give bowlers nightmares, but he fell to a sharp reflex catch by Andrew Strauss off Swann for just 12 - Australia now found themselves in a touch of bother at 154/4 in the 35th over. Michael Clarke made a useful 33, but maybe not scoring any boundaries got to him, gifting an easy catch off Swann to long-off. Mike Hussey fell to Paul Collingwood for just 21, and England were all over the Aussies at 182/6 in the 40th over. Jimmy Anderson's good day continued with the wickets of James Hopes, and Steven Smith and Doug Bollinger in the final over, as Australia's attempts at saving the series looked bleak with a dreadfully subpar 212.
Shaun Tait's return to the side gave them something to cheer about, a ripping delivery obliterating Craig Kieswetter's middle stump to check England's victory march at 1/1. Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen kept things going with a 50-run partnership before Tait, consistently hitting speeds in the upper-90 mph range, snapped a sharp return catch off KP for 25. Strauss and Paul Collingwood stitched together a 70-run partnership, before Doug Bollinger had Collingwood playing on for 40. His replacement, Eoin Morgan, was his usual unorthodox and audacious self, but fell with 28 off 50 for victory left, for 27. Strauss fell the next over for 87, and Luke Wright did his best to get out the following over, and Michael Yardy followed suit, to leave England in real trouble at 198/7. Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann saw off Shaun Tait's last over without incident, but Doug Bollinger bowled Bresnan and Broad in a double-wicket maiden to take Australia to the brink of keeping the series alive. Ryan Harris brought the equation down to a run-a-ball, but Tim Bresnan slashed him for 4, and then edged James Hopes' first ball of the next over for 4, to deliver England victory - and the series - by one single wicket.
So on the same day their footballers rolled over and played dead to Germany in Bloemfontein, England almost conspired to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against the other old enemy. 212 shouldn't have been a problem, given how well Yardy and Swann softened the Aussies, but Ricky Ponting's men, led by a lethal Shaun Tait, never ever gave up. It was a trait that made them unshakably dominant from 1999 to 2007, and despite a new-look team, they reminded us of it again. England certainly won't forget it, but what matters is that they topped Australia 3-0. With the calls for reform the one-day format getting louder, and opinions that this series is meaningless in light of the Ashes, the two oldest national teams in the world came together to slug it out in the most dramatic of fashions. Who said low-scoring matches were boring?