England crush Australia by 186 runs in dominant display – Harry Brook stars as player of the match
England continued its home superiority by dominating the 4th ODI of the 2024 Australian tour. The visitors lost this one at home by a mammoth 186 runs. England won the match because of a whole round ball performance despite the aggressive presence of Harry Brook in his knock. Chasing 312/5 for England, the Australians crumbled to an all-out score of 126.
Robust Opening with Bat by England
England got off to a dream start, as they won the toss and chose to bat first. Phil Salt and Ben Duckett gave them a stable base, especially as Salt was aggressive with the bat. It was he who, going a bit slow into his innings, rather set up the tone of England’s innings by a few boundaries before getting caught by Marnus Labuschagne off Josh Hazlewood’s bowling.
Ben Duckett, who has been in great nick throughout the series, anchored the innings and quickly reached his half-century. Duckett’s unbeaten knock of 63 off 62 balls went with six boundaries that propelled England to 150/3 by the 22nd over. His contributions laid a solid foundation for the massive total he fell victim to when he was dismissed by Adam Zampa.
Harry Brook Leads the Charge
And the real turning came when Harry Brook, who deputized for the day as the stand-in England captain, stepped out and played a breathtaking knock of 87 from just 58 balls, smashing 11 boundaries and a six against Australia’s bowlers, particularly its two lead bowlers Zampa and Hazlewood, who at a number of times couldn’t get hold of the ball despite his aggressive game.
Brook’s association with Jamie Smith took the match away from Australia. Smith was simply the perfect foil to Brook’s aggression, scoring a steady 39 off 28 balls. Though Smith failed in his conversion, it was his innings which played a crucial role and helped maintain the momentum for England.
After Brook got dismissed to Zampa in the 30th over, it was Liam Livingstone who ensured the innings did not keep on crumbling. Livingstone played a brisk knock of 62 not out from 27 balls as he took England into a marvellous total of 312/5 in 39 overs.
Australia’s Bowling Struggles
Australian bowlers could not tame the batting of English cricketers throughout the innings. Mitchell Starc was very expensive as he allowed England to amass 70 runs off his 8 overs. Hazlewood also, after having taken the wicket of Salt very early, lost his cool and leaked 41 runs from 8 overs he bowled. Zampa did pick two wickets but his cost was unbearable as he had figures of 2/66 in 8 overs.
The real issue for Australia however lay elsewhere as Mitchell Marsh, the captain, found himself having to try and salvage what he could with the ball with 1/27 from his 4 overs. However, the effort made by Brook and Livingstone had already been accomplished, and Australia was still left to contend with a mountain to climb in getting to 313 in a rain-abbreviated game.
Poor Opening with Bat by Australia
The chase failed to get off to a good beginning for Australia as Travis Head was dismissed early in the innings. He looked dangerous during his brief stay and scored 34 off 23 balls before being castled in the 9th over by a furious Brydon Carse.
Steven Smith was one of Australia’s most experienced players but looked something of a muddler as he made very little impression. He was caught by Jamie Smith off the bowling of Matthew Potts for just 5 runs. With the top order crumbling, captain Mitchell Marsh tried to steady the ship but fell for 28 after being bowled by Jofra Archer.
Bowlers Dominate England’s Side
Once Australia lost Marsh, their middle as well as their lower order started to collapse in a hurry. Jofra Archer bowled with pace and aggression after returning from injury, finishing with 2/32 off 7 overs. The Australian batsmen didn’t once slow down the pace as Archer took out their top order like a hot knife cutting butter.
Brydon Carse was no less sharp as well, scalping three decisive wickets which included Marnus Labuschagne and Josh Inglis. The ability to swing the ball either way troubled the Australian batsmen as Carse concluded his spell of 6 overs with impressive 3/36.
Matthew Potts is following up on fine form: he smashed his way through Australia’s tail, conceding only 38 runs for the wickets he took. Still, it took only that mix of seam and swing to draw the Australian players out of their denial and teamwork to forge meaningful partnerships.
Australian lower order couldn’t resist the onslaught of English and Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey departed cheaply. Adam Zampa too fell without scoring and Australia’s innings wrapped up in just 24.4 overs with 126.
Player of the Match: Harry Brook
Harry Brook was Man of the Match for a brilliant captain’s knock of 87 from 58 balls. His innings set the tone for the way in which England dominated, and his leadership was no less exemplary on the field. His aggressive stroke play put pressure on Australia’s back foot, and his efforts proved to be the difference between England managing to post a total too great to be overhauled.
England Bowling Depth Shines
England’s bowling was a reflection of the length their squad possesses. Archer, Potts, and Carse all doing well in their spells showed that England could rotate and keep the pressure on Australia throughout their innings. Even Adil Rashid, who only bowled 3.4 overs, contributed to the fall of a wicket, showing that each of these bowlers had something going for this attack to gain an advantage over Australia.
Conclusion: England dominates with a Commanding victory.
A statement performance in the 4th ODI of the series, England recorded an emphatic win of 186 runs against Australia. Fueled by Harry Brook’s presence, to whom support was provided by Duckett and Livingstone, helped England bat to run riot against Australian bowlers, whereas pressure led to Australian batsmen crumbling under pressure and not form any big partnership.
Hopefully, it should give England confidence for the final game of the series, and Australia has to reshuffle and make right adjustments in both their batting and bowling units if they hope to challenge England going forward.
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