Key Highlights
- Australia won the toss and chose to bat first
- Smith scored 94 (114) while Labuschagne got 58 (55)
- Marsh’s 50 (59) helped Australia put 280-8 in 50 overs
- England lost 2 wickets in the very first over of Starc
- Vince scored 60 (72) while Billings got 71 (80)
- England got bowled out at 208 in 38.5 overs
It’s Australia vs England second ODI that was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia won the toss and invited England to bowl first. Warner and Finch opened the inning for the host but couldn’t do much for them. Warner gave away his wicket to Moeen after scoring just 6 off 11. Soon, Finch was sent back to pavilion by Woakes at 19 off 28 balls. Australia had a sloppy start as they could only manage to put 44 runs in the mandatory powerplay at a loss of 2 wicket. However, Smith and Labuschagne managed to stabilize the inning in the middle overs. Smith scored 94 off 114 balls while Labuschagne’s crucial 58 off 55 balls came out to be useful for Australia. But, Adil Rashid dismissed them to help England break this partnership at a crucial time. Later, Mitchell Marsh vital 50 runs helped Australia to put a competitive score of 280 for England.
On a slow ground in Sydney, Australia scored a highly competitive goal. When the ball goes softer, runs are difficult to come by, and they failed to get the big hits away in the final innings as England exploited their cutters and discovered some reverse swing as well to recoup some ground. However, it doesn’t seem like travelling on 280 will be as simple as it was in Adelaide. Thanks to the work of Smith, Labuschagne, and Marsh—Smith anchored the innings, and the latter two played more freely around him—Australia was able to reach that score.
If not for Adil Rashid’s session, during which he took three wickets, they appeared to be headed for a higher total. Woakes and Willey then provided a strong finish. Although they don’t require a second invitation, England has a motive to attack the new ball aggressively in this situation.
In the run chase, Roy and Philip Salt opened for England. But, Roy 0 (2) got caught by Carey while flicking an excellent delivery from Starc in the very first over. Starc had his day today as he again bowled out Malan 0 (3), breaking the backbone of England in the very first over. England scored 34-2 after 5 overs. In the first ball of the 6th over, Hazlewood sent back Salt 23 (16) to the pavilion. Vince and Billings helped England to cruise in the middle overs.
Vince scored 60 off 72 while Billings got 71 off 80 but Australia’s bowling unit has shown exceptional skills today, especially Zampa who bowled beautifully. Zampa grabbed 4 wickets and turn the game on its head. Australia won by 72 runs as England was bowled out at 208 in 38.5 overs. It’s a quite collapse from England as they lost 7 wickets for just 52 runs.
In the 3 matches Aus vs Eng ODI Series, Australia leads by 2-0. Stay tuned with CBTF Speed News for the latest cricket updates!