ENGLAND VS AUSTRALIA, 2ND ODI, LEEDS : Carey and Bowlers Lead Australia’s Unstoppable March 2-0 Against England .
Australia went 2-0 up in the five-match series against England after winning the second ODI by 68 runs on Saturday, Sep 21 at Headingley in Leeds. At Trent Bridge, their bowling lacked precision. This time, it was England’s batting that fell short. Meanwhile, Australia clinched their 14th consecutive ODI win. Not since losing to South Africa in the ODI World Cup last October have they tasted defeat. Carey and Bowlers Lead Australia’s Unstoppable March 2-0 Against England .
TOSS-
England won the toss & chose to field.
LINE UP-
Australia (Playing XI):
Travis Head, Matthew Short, Mitchell Marsh (c), Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (w), Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
England (Playing XI):
Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Harry Brook (c), Jamie Smith (w), Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Olly Stone, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid
AUSTRALIA-
Asked to bat first, Australia posted a competitive score of 270 in 44.4 overs. Openers Matthew Short & Travis Head each contributed 29 runs before falling to Matthew Potts & Brydon Carse respectively. Skipper Mitchell Marsh stood tall at No.3 with a brisk 60 off 59 balls—six fours and three sixes sprinkled in.
At 221 for nine, Australia seemed cornered. But Alex Carey’s crucial partnership of 49 with Josh Hazlewood steadied the ship. Carey led from the front with an assertive 74 off 67 balls—featuring eight fours and three sixes.
Aaron Hardie chipped in with a useful 23 off 25 deliveries. For England, Brydon Carse took three wickets but conceded 75 runs. Potts, Adil Rashid & Jacob Bethell secured two wickets each. Rashid also joined the ranks as one of the fastest English bowlers to notch up 200 ODI wickets.
ENGLAND-
England started steady. Phil Salt & Ben Duckett took them to 26 for one in four overs. But things changed when Josh Hazlewood sent Salt packing. After that, the hosts lost their rhythm. Will Jacks and Liam Livingstone had a terrible time, both getting golden ducks.
Duckett played well in his 25-ball 32. But then Hardie dismissed him with a caught and bowled. Harry Brook got an in-swinging Yorker from Mitchell and was LBW. England was stumbling at 65 for five in 9.3 overs.
Jamie Smith and Jacob Bethell tried to calm things down with a 55-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Hazlewood disrupted that by dismissing Smith, who fell just one short of a half-century with 49 off 61 balls. Bethell was taken out by Glenn Maxwell after scoring 25.
Carse & Rashid tried hard to stabilize things with knocks of 26 and 27 respectively, but they couldn’t save England. Starc was the star for Australia, taking three wickets. Hazlewood, Hardie, and Maxwell each grabbed two.
Brief Scores:
Australia made 270 in 44.4 overs (Alex Carey 74, Mitchell Marsh 60; Brydon Carse 3-75, Matthew Potts 2-30, Jacob Bethell 2-33) and 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 a solid margin of 68 runs .