Australia thrashed England by a comfortable margin of eight wickets in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) at the Old Trafford in Manchester to clinch the series 3-2. Mitchell Marsh (4 for 27) and John Hastings (3 for 21) were the destroyers-in-chief of the English batting order to bowl them out for a paltry 138, while Aaron Finch and George Bailey formed a 108-run partnership to setup the victory for the tourists after the England pacers got a couple of early wickets. The win helped bring Australia’s tour of England and Ireland, which was disappointing for the most part so far, to a happy ending. SCORECARD: England vs Australia, 5th ODI at Old Trafford
Australia were greeted by a lethal spell of fast-bowling by David Willey, who opened the bowling along with debutante Reece Topley. Willey, who starred in the previous game with a three-wicket haul that reduced Australia to 30 for 3, removed Joe Burns for a 10-ball duck as the visitors lost their first wicket with just two runs on board. Finch and skipper Steven Smith went about their business cautiously, not getting many opportunities to score runs. Smith was the next batsman to depart getting an edge to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow off the bowling of Wood for 12, his third-consecutive disappointing score in the series. Australia looked shaky at the lunch break, with the scorecard reading 36 for 2 after 10 overs. UPDATES: England vs Australia, 5th ODI at Old Trafford
The right-handed opening batsman then combined forces with No. 4 batsman Bailey, who was been in good touch for the most part during the series and is a dependable batsman at that position. The duo were going steady during their early part of their partnership, before going for some powerful hitting all over the park once the spinners were introduced into the attack. The duo went on to form an unbroken 108-run stand for the third wicket, with Finch bringing up his second half-century in three games, his second consecutive at the venue. The Victorian batsman was unbeaten on 70, hitting the winning boundary, while Bailey was unbeaten on 41 off 45 balls.
England were earlier bowled out for a paltry score of 138 after winning the toss and electing to bat first, much like they did during the third ODI at the same venue. While Australia brought in Mitchell Starc and Ashton Agar in place of James Pattinson and Marcus Stoinis, England chose to make the solitary change of giving Topley his ODI debut by drafting him in place of Liam Plunkett. Starc, who was rested for the fourth ODI, removed destructive opener Jason Roy with a full toss that struck the latter on his pads. While the umpire’s decision was a debatable one, Roy walked back to the pavilion after a moment of doubt. Alex Hales and James Taylor were next to depart, with England reeling at 22 for 3.
The biggest blow to the hosts was when skipper Eoin Morgan was struck on the right side of his helmet by a Starc bouncer, which caused him to retire hurt due to a concussion and miss out on the rest of the match, allowing Taylor to captain the side for only the second time in his career. Stokes put up a fight with the bat, hitting six boundaries and a six during his fighting knock, before getting dismissed eight runs short of a fifty. Rashid managed to delay the inevitable with his 45-ball unbeaten knock of 35, before Agar trapped Topley leg-before wicket to bring the England innings to a premature end. VIDEO: Eoin Morgan hit on head by Mitchell Starc bouncer during 5th ODI at Old Trafford
Brief scores:
England 138 in 33 overs (Ben Stokes 42, Adil Rashid 35*; Mitchell Marsh 4 for 27, John Hastings 3 for 21) lost to Australia 140 for 2 in 24.2 overs (Aaron Finch 70*, George Bailey 41*; David Willey 1 for 13) by 8 wickets.
(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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