Last updated on October 3rd, 2024 at 10:35 am
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe return of three Australian mainstays, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Glenn Maxwell, overshadowed England’s better bowling performance in the second ODI in Leeds and propelled their side to a 2-0 series lead. Three Australian lower-order batsmen, including Jamie Smith, were the only ones to put up much of a fight as they took seven of the ten wickets that fell.
Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey were Australia’s poster boys for rebellion. After the captain hit successive sixes and reached sixty, the keeper-batter formed brief but significant alliances with the middle and lower order, allowing them to extend the innings. Among his exploits was a 49-run partnership with No. 11 hitter Hazlewood, who managed just four runs off 11 hits.
The England batsmen collapsed for 202 in the 41st over, unable to muster even a semblance of that tenacity. No batter reached 50, with Smith’s 48 being the best individual total. On a decent batting surface, the chase for a below-average total of 270 got off to a strong start when Phil Salt hit back-to-back fours off Starc in the first over. But Hazlewood kept hitting the outside edge of his bat, which made the right-hander sick. In the fourth over, Salt gave up and gave Carey a behind.
Will Jacks was out for a first-ball duck in the next over after Starc made an amazing diving catch at second slip. After that, Starc took the third wicket of the PowerPlay, trapping Harry Brook leg before, to further hamper England’s chase. With a blistering backfoot blow to get off to a good start in the eighth over and two more in the ninth, Smith calmed both himself and England’s nerves. However, Aaron Hardie’s double-wicket over left England five down for just 65. He had Carey to thank for diving full length to catch Liam Livingstone down the leg side for a golden duck after he had first executed a one-handed follow-through blinder to dismiss Ben Duckett.
A 55-run partnership between Smith and Jacob Bethell, who had also taken two wickets earlier in the day, attempted a comeback. In the middle overs, Marsh threw to Maxwell and immediately reaped the rewards when Bethell hit a ball to Starc at short third. Along with Smith, Brydon Carse and Adil Rashid extended the innings, keeping England in the hunt for series parity with the ball. However, that could only go from 202 all-out with all three of them falling to 120 for 6 at Bethell’s departure. After taking out Olly Stone, Starc returned to put the finishing touches on the game, finishing with 3 for 50.
Brief Scores: Australia 270 in 44.4 overs (Alex Carey 74, Mitchell Marsh 60; Brydon Carse 3-75, Matthew Potts 2-30, Jacob Bethell 2-33) beat England 202 in 40.2 overs (Jamie Smith 48; Mitchell Starc 3-50, Josh Hazlewood 2-54, Aaron Hardie 2-26, Glenn Maxwell 2-15) by 68 runs
