Travis Head hit a stunning 152 off 130 balls as Australia dominated Melbourne Third One Day International, Melbourne Cricket GroundAustralia 355-5 (48 overs): Head 152 (130), Warner 106 (102), Stone 4-85England 142 all out ( Overs: Roy 33 (48), Zampa 4-31, Cummins 2-25 Australia win by 221 runs (DLS method) Scorecard
Travis Head and David Warner both hit centuries as Australia handed England their heaviest one-day international defeat in terms of matches in Melbourne.
The openers combined for the highest ODI run at the MCG (269) to help the hosts to 355-5, their highest ODI total against England, in an innings shortened to 48 overs due to rain.
Head made a brilliant 152 off 130 balls and Warner made 106 off 102 deliveries as England were penalized for a poor bowling effort in their final match before returning home.
Set Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) to an adjusted 364 to win, England never threatened to get close and were bowled out for 142 as Australia secured a 3-0 series sweep in comprehensive fashion.
Adam Zampa took 4-31 as England were bowled out in 31.4 overs.
For both sides, attention now shifts to red-ball cricket, with Australia hosting the West Indies in a two-Test series starting next Wednesday, while England begin their three-match tour of Pakistan a day later.
Head and Warner are relentless in the record position
It was the type of innings that England must be very familiar with.
Hyper-aggressive from the first ball, take the attack to the bowlers, hit them outside their lengths, take risks, ride your luck if you have to and before you know it, you’re flying and the opposition are reeling.
In the last seven years Jason Roy, Alex Hales or Jonny Bairstow have done it to the opposition. This time Head gave them a taste of their own medicine.
The left-hander offered a tough chance at slip when he was on four, had to overturn an lbw decision on nine and found gaps or even boundaries with errant and errant shots early in his innings. Fate favored his bold approach.
By the time he was bowled by Ollie Stone for 152, however, it was a shock not just that he missed the ball but that he didn’t center it.
With a tired England attack struggling to find any intensity or consistency, Head was relentless.
It was brutal batting as the 28-year-old pounced on everything short and bowled everything full in a fearless display of batting.
This allowed Warner, by his own admission, to play second fiddle to a century faster than a run.
Only Ricky Ponting (29) has scored more ODI centuries for Australia than David Warner (19)
There was little more to the celebration as he reached his 19th ODI ton after the recent debate over whether he would be allowed to captain Australia again and even how much more was left in his international career.
“He was fired up and had the bite between his teeth and it was fantastic,” former England bowler Alex Hartley said on Test Match Special.
The 35-year-old looked far from spent as he mixed power with guile, and while the damage was already done, England’s relief was palpable when they eventually managed to remove Warner and Head in the space of four balls.
Former captain Aaron Finch is gone and at this rate he can be quickly forgotten.
“A game too far for England”
Looking at the schedule, it was clear that this ODI series might not be a priority for England.
“Terrible” was how Moeen Ali described him after the T20 World Cup victory, and the way the tourists have approached this series suggests his perspective is not unique in the team.
It is not the first time this England team has been without some of its stars due to Test commitments, but when the rest also split their games between them after a successful but mentally draining tournament, the challenge becomes that much greater.
The lack of sharpness was evident in the first two games and in the third, with the series already lost, England struggled to muster any intensity.
“I think it’s a game too far for England,” Hartley said. “They came out and bowled like they were already on the plane home.
“It’s so difficult when you’re coming off the back of a World Cup win. Australia have had an extra week off and look a lot fresher.”
Even on a scree-friendly surface, England’s bowling lacked any zip, especially as an early wicket was not forthcoming. There was no lack of effort but the indiscipline in the bowling hinted that minds were not fully focused on the game.
It may not have been England’s first-choice attack, but it was indicative of how much more threatening Australia’s bowlers were when their chance came.
Even more telling was the nonchalant manner in which England threw away their wickets once their slim hopes of a successful run chase had vanished.
Buttler came in at the fall of the fourth wicket and smashed his fourth ball straight in the air as he tried to get Zampa out of the stadium, Moeen Ali was bowled by the same bowler and Sam Curran and Liam Dawson also fell, swinging . No one seemed too disappointed to leave.
With the World Cup in India next October, the 50-over format will soon assume much greater importance for Buttler’s team. But apparently that time has not yet arrived.
In the end, however, England leave Australia having achieved their goal: a World Cup win.
“It doesn’t detract from winning the World Cup”
England captain Jos Buttler on BBC Test Match Special: “We dropped a lot. It was always going to be a tough run for us after the World Cup, but it was just a few games too far.
“Fair play to Australia, they outplayed us.
“It doesn’t affect winning the World Cup for us at all. We are very happy with the tour, we got exactly what we wanted from it [World Cup win].”
Australia captain Pat Cummins: “It’s been fantastic all three games, it’s all really worked out. The bowlers wanted to play and got the job done and the batting was fantastic.
“It was good to end it here, I think it’s the best ODI I’ve played in.”
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