England vs Australia, 5th ODI: Live Cricket Score and Updates of a Thrilling Series Finale
The fifth One-day international between England and Australia was touted to be one of the most keenly contested matches in the series, as the two teams were more than eager to bow off the series on a high note. Today’s game is not just about bragging rights but an opportunity for both teams to take stock of their strengths and weaknesses as they prepare for the next big events that will be happening shortly. Playing at home, England will look to deliver something special while Australia will look to prove their mettle on the 50-over format. Here is a summary of the drama-filled key moments in the 5th ODI.
England’s Top Order Shows Intent
England’s openers came out with a bang, realizing that they needed to put in a competitive score against the Australians’ muchstronger bowling line-up. And Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow provided a strong partnership up in the early overs. More known for his aggressive batting style, it was good to see him calm down early enough and find the boundaries, while Bairstow rotated the strike and kept ticking the scoreboard.
On the other hand, Australia’s fast bowlers started looking pretty much in rhythm almost right away – Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were particularly on fire. Hazlewood, in particular, was impeccable in length and middled great precision to get rid of Jason Roy with an inswinging delivery that gave no space for Roy to play. Bairstow wasn’t a moment behind as he edged one to the slips. England’s middle-order set pieces – in Joe Root and Jos Buttler proved to be calm and classy in rebuilding their innings.
Steer a Steady Course: The Evidence for Root and Buttler
After the initial wickets, England required to stabilise. Joe Root and Jos Buttler were instrumental in upholding the challenge of such a requirement. Root played like an anchor, rotating the strike with wide casts and hand-eye coordination to neutralize the attack from the Australians. Buttler’s assertion on why he is considered one of the best finishers in world cricket came alive as he tempered caution with aggression, rising spectacularly over the boundary at times.
Their partnership upset the Australian bowling, as they could not take any wicket for a long time. Adam Zampa, the leg-spinner from Australia, also utilized his difference in pace and trajectory cleverly but still, the two batsmen, Root and Buttler, batted so easily against him.
Australia Fights Back with Late Wickets
Just when it seemed England were going to post a humongous total, Australia responded with key wickets to bridge the over gap. Experienced death bowlers Pat Cummins and Starc used variations to good effect. Buttler was looking set for a big score, but he mis-timed a pull shot off Cummins and was caught at deep midwicket.
Root continued to score runs aggressively, but finally lost to the slower delivery by Starc. However, England’s lower order, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran, started adding some quick runs that took the total past 300 which had largely been considered as a par score on that surface.
Australia’s Chase Stuttered with a Losing Wicket
Its pursuit of England’s 310 off a testy start after the opening pair of David Warner and Travis Head took guard. They were penned to be circumspect as much as possible given how closely the first few overs would define the solidity at the base. Warner wasn’t quite so lucky, edging a delivery from Chris Woakes that nipped away just enough to catch the outside edge.
Steve Smith walked to the crease at No 3, where it was probably expected he would bat as an anchor for the innings. In his defence, Smith started fairly quietly to it all, with Woakes and Reece Topley harrying him with tight lines, but Head tried to accelerate, chopping a bouncer from Topley in a rash attempt to pull at it.
Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith Start the Comeback
Marnus Labuschagne at one end, and Smith at the other, rebuilding the innings with a methodical partnership as Australia reached 50 for two. Smith, as always, showed his quirky game, played pockets and rotates the strike. Labuschagne, on the other hand, was aggressive-especially against spin-assuming the field aggressively, taking singles off Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.
It was a hope from the partnership, but England’s bowling unit was still disciplined. Rashid particularly bowl well; he mixed his leg-break with the occasional googly. Smith eventually fell to a sharply spinning Rashid delivery, stumped by Buttler.
Labuschagne’s Heroics and England’s Tight Bowling
After the dismissal of Smith, it was left upon Labuschagne to prolong the stay of Australia at the game. He continued to tamper with the spinners and edged the boundary often to get closer to his half-century. However, time was starting to create an elevation in the asking rate, and wickets began to fall from the other end. This left little support for Labuschagne.
The bowlers did well from the English end, particularly Curran and Woakes, in the last overs as they kept tight lines on the batsmen to deny the lower order of Australia to get the required runs. Labuschagne managed to get a well-deserved century, but all his effort went down the drain when the tailenders of Australia failed to withstand the bowling of England.
England Win a Series
Eventually, Australia lost by 20 runs, and it was a closely fought victory for England. Chris Woakes’s three wickets were the turn of the match. It is impressive how England’s bowlers remained composed to be able to get wickets at the right time, which made all the difference.
For Australia, it was a disappointing result; on the other hand, there are indeed a lot to take away positives from the game, especially the form of Labuschagne and the performance of their fast bowlers. For England, it was a testimony to the depth their batting and bowling could possess, and it surely will boost the team’s confidence with more challenges ahead.
Conclusion
The 5th ODI match witnessed both the opponents-England and Australia-made everything an exciting affair, playing out the very best of each other. Australia had no hope against England’s top order and the bowling unit, although by the mere effort of Labuschagne. The ending of this thrilling series seemed apt through the manner in which the team came out to take the field and really went on to showcase high-class cricket throughout.
