England fell a long way short – skipper Buttler
ENGLAND were left to reflect on their heaviest ODI defeat in terms of runs as Australia claimed a 3-0 series clean sweep of the double world champions.
The timing of this series so soon after England’s T20 World Cup win was labelled “horrible” by Moeen Ali and the significance or lack thereof of this dead rubber was amplified by a sparsely-populated MCG.
At a ground with a capacity of 100,00, only 10,406 fans turned up, setting a new record low at the venue for a men’s ODI involving Australia, who nevertheless gave those who attended reason for cheer.
On a cold, gloomy day, Travis Head thumped 152 off 130 balls and David Warner 106 off 102 deliveries in a boundary-heavy 269-run opening stand in 38.1 overs, underpinning Australia’s 355 for five.
Set an adjusted Duckworth-LewisStern target of 364 after rain reduced the third and final ODI to 48 overs per side, England capitulated to 142 all out in 31.4 overs to lose by a record 221 runs.
There was an end-of-term feeling to England’s display, the tourists seeming lethargic after a hectic past couple of months for many in the squad, and Jos Buttler acknowledged they were subpar.
“We tried our best but we fell a long way short – Australia played really well,” said Buttler at the ground where England won the T20 World Cup nine days earlier. But there’s lots to be proud of, you don’t need long memories to remember the scenes here last week.”
Bowler Olly Stone said it would be “wonderful” to be selected for England’s defence of their 50-over World Cup in India next year after his second ODI appearance in four years, having played in the series opener too. Stone, whose career progression has been disrupted by several injuries, believes he has gained some insight after a tricky few days for England.
“It’s a big learning curve for me,” he added. “It’s frustrating because I want to do as well as I can but it’s definitely something that I can learn from and hopefully take forward.
“The series hasn’t gone the way we’d like it to and the boys obviously attacked it as hard as we could but it wasn’t quite good enough.”
Australia captain Pat Cummins was thrilled his side finished the series with a flourish.
“It’s been fantastic, all three games,” he said. “Everything has really clicked.”
■ Surrey’s Laurie Evans has had his contract with Perth Scorchers terminated by mutual consent for this season’s Big Bash League after his positive test for a banned substance.
Evans announced in a statement through the Professional Cricketers’ Association he was “shocked” by the results of a test taken in August, when he was with the Manchester Originals in The Hundred.
While the T20 specialist averaged 40.11 with a strike-rate of 144.4 in his maiden season in the BBL with the Scorchers, the news has prompted the franchise side to sever ties with the 35-year-old.
“The club is disappointed to learn of Evans’ positive anti-doping test result relating to a sample provided in August,” said a club statement.
“Due to the circumstances, the Scorchers and Laurie have decided to mutually terminate his contract for the 2022-23 Big Bash season.”
Evans has never played for England but has been on the fringes of selection in the past and featured in a 55-man training squad convened in 2021 during Covid regulations.