I’m going to be talking about the recent ODI series between England and Australia, and England and Bangladesh, talking about the best moments, England’s main performers and much more.
So, throughout England’s ODI’s this summer, one of the main factors is that England have has a number of key performers. Lead by Andrew Strauss at the very top of the order, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan starred with the bat, and Broad and Swann with the ball, have been England’s main performers with the ball so far this summer.
Players like Ravi Bopara, John Trott, Jimmy Anderson, Luke Wright and others have chipped in with good performances so far this summer. However, two of England’s senior batsmen, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen have sadly sustained injuries that will keep them out for at least a few months.
So on with the show
...England won the first ODI by 4 wickets after Australia posted a respectable 267 in their innings, with Broad, Anderson and Wright taking two wickets each. England’s reply got off to a bad start as the Aussies took the initiative when Andrew Strauss was removed in the 3rd over. However a blistering knock from the man himself Eoin Morgan, 103 off only 85 balls took the England boys home. Morgan and Wright put on 95 in 15 overs and then Morgan and Bresnan 71 in only 11 overs, to start off the series with an important win.
England won the second ODI, again by four wickets. This time 239 wasn’t enough for the feeble Australians as Stuart broad took 4-44 with the ball. Strauss hit his first 50 of the summer, including two sixes before being caught and bowled by spinner Hauritz. Collingwood scored 48, adding 2 more sixes to the tally. Finally Morgan backed things up with a superb 52. Despite pace man Dougie Bollinger’s best efforts of 3-46, England reached home tidily with 28 balls to spare.
The third ODI of the NatWest series was a much closer affair; England just scraped through with a 1 wicket win to clinch the series and the trophy. Watson and Paine fired with the bat for Australia, with a few smaller knocks from the top 6 guiding the Aussies to 212 at 4.6 runs an over. Andersons 3-22 including a maiden over was his best of the summer, while Swann’s 4-37 also helped to bowl out Australia in 46 overs. Strauss again led from the front with a captain’s innings of 87 and was unlucky not to reach his centuary. Collingwood hit a four and a six in his knock of 40; however it was left to Tim Bresnan to lead a nervous over the lin
e and to series success.
In the fourth and fifth ODI’s, England faltered against a much improves opposition, Australia won both of the games batting first in both (Australia batted first in every game). In the 4th game Ponting hit 92 and Clarke 99* to lead the Aussies to an opposing score of 290. Andrew Strauss hit 37, Morgan 47 including 3 sixes, and Yardy top scored with 57 but England fell short at 212, making the series 3-1 to England. The next Game, the 5th and final ODI in the series, played at lords, Australia again batted first and made 277, their second biggest total of the series. 50’s from Hussey, Marsh and Paine set up the win. Broad took 64-4 and Swann 32-3, but their efforts were in vain. Anderson went at 7.5 per over with disappointing figures of 75-0. One day expert Paul Collingwood hit 95 including 2 sixes made him England’s most consistent batsmen of the series. Sean Taits blistering fast bowling ripped England to shreds with 4-48 (8 in the series) , and featured only the second ever 100mph ball ever recorded in cricket. However, England won the 5 match series 3-2...
For the series with Bangladesh, the selectors rested a number of key players including Pietersen and Swann. Enter John Trott who fired against Bangladesh. England won the first ODI by 6 wickets with 29 balls remaining. Broad and Bresnan took two wickets each. Anderson was very expensive economically and runs wise but took 3 wickets, and Yardy took 1, as the bowlers reduced Bangladesh to 250. Strauss gave England an aggressive start with 50 off 37 balls with a strike rate of 137, backed up by an assured man of the match performance of 84 from Ian Bell.
The second ODI of the series is one that will go down in history...Bangladesh’s first ever win against England in ODI’s, at the County Ground. England looked to have the series in the bag when Bangladesh scored a below par 236, with Shaddaz and Colly the pick of the bowlers. A real team effort from the Bangladeshi bowlers took the game to England.33 from the captain was the second highest score to trott’s 94,but the Warwickshire man couldn’t take England home in the final over, leaving the series at 1-1 with 1 match to play.
The third and final ODI showed any doubters of England that they are one of the best ODI teams in the world. With England batting first, Kieswetter was removed 4th ball of the game and all eyes were on England. Enter Strauss and Trott, who took them game away from Bangladesh with England’s highest ever ODI partnership- an impressive 250. Strauss hit his highest ever one day score of 154 and Trott 110, as these two showed skill and determination to leave a platform for the one and only Ravi Bopara. His 45 runs from only 18 deliveries faced, included 4 sixes, with an amazing strike rate of 281, setting England up for the win by helping post 347 (at almost 7 RPO). Bopara then took 4 wickets with the ball; however the man of the match and the series went to the extremely impressive Andrew Strauss.
What a great summer he is having! Make sure you keep checking back as a video will soon be available on youtube with this info and more on the summer’s cricketing events. Until then, I am Dan jukes and this is my cricket blog!
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