England smash Aussies AGAIN!
ROY LEADS CHARGE TOWARDS WHITEWASH
Four down, one to go. England, with Jason roy sublime with bat and in the field, simply brushed Australia aside again in Durham last night to move a huge step closer towards their first one-day 5-0 whitewash over the old enemy.
How one- sided this royal London series has become and how great a gulf there is between the best 50-over side in England’s history and what is surely the worst white-ball team Australia have sent to these shores.
There was no record-breaking hitting from England last night, as there had been at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. There did not have to be this time as it was all too easy against a severely weakened Australia. Not even what would once have been a formidable Australian score of 310 for eight in this fourth one- day international was anywhere near enough to test England. They cruised past it with six wickets and 32 balls in hand.
Captain Eoin Morgan said: ‘We’ve found a new level of intensity and if this becomes the norm that will be awesome because it sets an unbelievable tone at the top of the order. The form the guys are in is phenomenal.’
It had even looked as though England would chase down Australia’s total without loss when roy and Jonny Bairstow were again showing what a formidable opening partnership they have become in racing to 174 in the 24th over.
Perhaps over- confidence crept in as England then lost four wickets in getting to 244 but Alex Hales and Jos Buttler, with 54 off 29 balls, ensured there were to be no real alarms as they took England home in the summer solstice sunshine.
Above all this was a triumph for roy who has been in superlative form in this series, smashing 101 off 83 balls to add to his ton in Cardiff and 82 in Nottingham.
But it was earlier that roy really excelled, instigating a stunning relay catch to dismiss Shaun Marsh by throwing the ball to debutant Craig overton from long-on fully 20 yards away when he was about to step over the boundary.
It says everything about the modern game that Australia made the highest one-day international score at Durham and still lost so convincingly. And it says everything about the power of this England side that it felt at the halfway stage as if there could be only one winner. And it was not Australia.
Australia may have had two centurymakers in Aaron Finch and Marsh but this was still more like an old- school one-day innings, with Australia laying a platform with wickets in hand for a late surge that never came.
At least Finch was back where he belongs at the top of the order in Australia’s latest reshuffle and he displayed the folly of dropping him down to five with his sixth one-day international century against England.
It was ended, though, immediately after reaching three figures when he became Mark Wood’s first international wicket on his home ground and the Durham man added a second in the same over when he bowled Marcus Stoinis.
Marsh recorded his second century in three matches but once he had fallen to roy’s sensational athleticism Australia’s hopes of a competitive score had gone.
The older Marsh brother was one of three Australian wickets to fall in a 48th over bowled by David Willey.
Perhaps Australia would have had a sniff had Tim Paine held on to the simplest of edges from Hales on 17.
It was almost possible to feel sorry for Paine, who has been handed the hospital pass of leading this Australia side in the aftermath of the cheating scandal that engulfed them in Cape Town.
Almost but not quite because England can never tire of thrashing Australia and they will head to Manchester for Sunday’s final game with a whitewash in their sights.