ENGLAND PREVAIL IN THRILLER
Archer triggers Aussie collapse
IF England’s Test win over Pakistan here earlier this year was the ‘Miracle of Manchester’, then this extraordinary turnaround was the ‘Suffocation in Salford’.
From a position where they seemingly could not lose, Australia capitulated as England squeezed the life out of them to grab a series-levelling win.
Capitulation? It was more like Australia’s second choke of this white-ball tour as they followed up an equally unlikely defeat in the first Twenty20 international to contrive to throw away this second 50-over game.
But to dwell on Australia’s capacity for self-destruction would be to do England a huge disservice because they turned this game on its head with quite magnificent bowling from Jofra Archer, backed up superbly by Chris Woakes.
When Australia stood at 144 for two chasing a below-par England score of 231 for nine that owed everything to a late rescue act from Adil Rashid and Tom Curran, there could surely only be one winner of this game and the series.
But Archer and Woakes took four wickets for three runs in 21 balls between them before Sam Curran, preferred here to spinner Moeen Ali, took two wickets in successive balls to leave Australia down and all but out. The younger Curran and Rashid wrapped up a 24-run win with eight balls to spare to preserve England’s fiveyear unbeaten home 50-over series record and set up a decider to end the men’s international season back here on Wednesday.
England skipper Eoin Morgan said before this series that he wanted to play on slow, low, tired pitches like this to prepare for the Twenty20 World Cup next year and England’s defence of the 50-over crown in 2023, both in India.
But Morgan will want to see more than this from his batsmen, because the bulk of the England innings was like a throwback to the days before the captain launched his 50-over revolution and England threw off the shackles after years of mediocrity.
Admittedly, Australia were superb again with the ball, Josh Hazelwood and Mitchell Starc producing Test-match quality seam and swing bowling.
None of the England top order could get going after Morgan had won the toss, even though Jason Roy was handed a reprieve when he was given lbw second ball to Starc, only for Martin Saggers’ decision to be overturned.
Not that Roy could take advantage as he was run out by a direct hit from Marcus Stoinis, responding to a call from Joe Root for a single that never looked on.
That followed a painful sevenball duck from Jonny Bairstow, while Root again struggled for any sort of fluency until he pulled Stoinis for six in a rare piece of aggression from England’s usually explosive top order.
The introduction of Adam Zampa’s leg-spin quickly accounted for Root and only Morgan threatened to get on top of the Australia attack before he was on the wrong end of a reviewed lbw decision from Saggers.
At the 30-over mark, with Jos Buttler falling to Pat Cummins, England stood at 117 for five.
It took the unlikely figures of Tom Curran and Rashid to bring England back into the game after Woakes had hit four boundaries in the No 7 spot from where he launched that ‘Miracle of Manchester’ here against Pakistan.
Curran and Rashid seemed to be trying to make sure England used up their 50 overs, but then took the attack to Australia for the first time, 53 of their partnership of 76 for the ninth wicket coming off the last four overs. And it was to prove decisive even though Australia, led by captain Aaron Finch, appeared to have weathered the early storm provided by Archer to move into a commanding position from which they should have strolled to a series-clinching victory. First came hostile new-ball bowling from Archer that was too hot for David Warner. He has now been dismissed four times by Archer in four innings on this tour.
And the 90mph brute that Stoinis could only fend tamely to Buttler was another example of how thrilling Archer looks with a new white ball in his hand. He was just as menacing when he came back, too, bowling Mitch Marsh off an inside edge and finishing with three for 34 off ten superb overs.
Woakes, meanwhile, did all his damage in his final spell, first overturning a rare mistake by umpire Michael Gough to have Marnus Labuschagne lbw and then bowling Finch and Glenn Maxwell with beauties.
The England pair finished with six wickets between them and had gone for a combined 66 runs to bring Australia to their knees.
Alex Carey threatened to provide one last twist until Rashid had him stumped in the penultimate over and Australia had once again grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory. Another incredible match in this unique summer and one more to go.