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Australia finish on 309/7 after 49 overs against England in 2nd ODI at Lord’s

Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh and George Bailey led the way for the visitors with half-centuries.

Steven Smith © Getty Images
Steven Smith © Getty Images

Australia finished on a score of 309 for 7 after their quota of 49 overs in the second One-Day International (ODI) against England at Lord’s on Saturday. Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh and George Bailey led the way for the Australians with knocks of 70, 64 and 54 respectively, while Ben Stokes was the pick among the England bowlers with figures of 3 for 60 in nine overs. Australia scored as many as 96 runs in the last 10 overs. David Warner injured his thumb during the rain-affected game, having to retire himself out and opt out from fielding. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: England vs Australia, 2nd ODI at Lord’s

The toss was delayed by around 30 minutes earlier in the day due to a brief spell of rain, causing the match to become a 49-over per side affair. England skipper Eoin Morgan eventually won the toss, and made Australia bat first. While the latter ann0unced an unchanged from the first game, the hosts decided to draft Liam Plunkett in place of Mark Wood, who conceded 72 runs from 10 overs for a wicket in the first game.

Opening batsman David Warner was the first Australian to head back to the pavilion after sustaining a painful blow on his left thumb while attempting to tackle a Steven Finn bouncer. The southpaw was facing his first delivery of the match, and even took a single after the injurious strike to his thumb. He however, was quick to take his gloves off and signal for a physio, walking off the field in pain shortly afterwards. Warner kept circling the boundary after that, appearing to be ready to bat again, though reports came in of him opting out from fielding during the England innings. LIVE CRICKET UPDATES: England vs Australia, 2nd ODI at Lord’s

Finn went on to inflict another damage to the Australian team, this time bowling a beautiful delivery that angled into the stumps of Joe Burns. The batsman was attempting an ambitious straight drive but ended up missing the line of the ball completely to his get his stumps shattered, departing for a score of 22. Australia skipper Smith then steadied the innings along with Bailey, gradually gaining pace with passage of time to increase the frequency of boundaries. Smith and Bailey brought up their eighth and 16th ODI half-centuries off 68 and 63 deliveries respectively.

The partnership between the two was worth 99 when Bailey was bowled by Moeen Ali for 54 while attempting to make room for a cut, with the visitors losing their second wicket with 141 on board. Smith was next to depart when he was dismissed for an 87-ball 70, getting a bottom-edge that resulted in a simple catch for James Taylor at short backward point off the bowling of Adil Rashid.

Glenn Maxwell and Shane Watson helped increase the Australian scoring rate majorly thereafter. Maxwell smashed a 38-ball 49, that included four boundaries and three sixes, to stitch a 47-run partnership off just 38 balls with Watson before getting trapped lbw by Finn. During his innings Maxwell reached the milestone of his 50th ODI six. Watson kept the party going after Maxwell’s dismissal in a 63-run fifth wicket stand with Mitchell Marsh, with the pair getting the fours and sixes at ease during their stay at the crease.

Marsh eventually brought up his half-century in just 26 deliveries, four boundaries and three sixes during his stay. Matthew Wade, winning the ‘Man of the Match’ in the first ODI for his unbeaten 71, was caught and bowled by Ben Stokes for 1 off 2 balls. Once again, the England bowlers allowed the visitors to score too many runs in the last 10 overs, with Australia amassing 96 for the loss of four wickets during that period.

Brief scores:

Australia 309 for 7 in 49 overs (Steven Smith 70, George Bailey 54, Glenn Maxwell 49, Mitchell Marsh 64; Ben Stokes 3 for 60) vs England.

Full Scorecard

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)

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