James Taylor century propels England to 300/8 in 3rd ODI against Australia at Old Trafford

England finished on a score of 300 for 8 after their quota of 50 overs during the third One-Day International (ODI) against Australia in the ongoing five-match series. It was the first time the hosts managed to cross the 300-run barrier in the ongoing series so far, after getting dismissed for 246 and 245 in the first two games. The highlight of England’s innings was James Taylor‘s maiden ODI hundred, getting dismissed for 101 off 114 balls after hitting five boundaries. Valuable contributions towards the England total came from skipper Eoin Morgan (62 off 56) and Jason Roy (63 off 45), with Taylor and Morgan sharing a 119-run partnership for the third wicket to help setup the foundation for a major finish. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: England vs Australia 2015, 3rd ODI in Old Trafford

England earlier won the toss and chose to bat. Skipper Morgan announcing the solitary change in his lineup with Jonny Bairstow coming in place of Jos Buttler as the team’s wicketkeeper batsman, with the latter suffering a loss of form in the ongoing series. Australia, on the other hand, brought in Aaron Finch, Ashton Agar and James Pattinson in place of the injured trio of David Warner, Shane Watson and Nathan Coulter-Nile, all of whom sustained injuries in the second ODI. While Warner injured his thumb while trying to fend a bouncer from Steven Finn, Coulter-Nile and Watson getting their hamstring and calf muscles injured. Finch and Agar played made their 50th and maiden ODI appearance as a result. LIVE CRICKET UPDATES: England vs Australia 2015, 3rd ODI in Old Trafford

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England were once again guided to a good start, with Roy and Alex Hales putting up an opening stand worth 52 runs. Roy however, did most of the hitting while Hales was trudging along, hitting a solitary boundary before getting dismissed for 9 off 31 balls. Roy got a few more hits towards the fence during his brief partnership with Taylor, before getting dismissed for 63 off 45 balls, his second ODI fifty, after hitting nine boundaries. Taylor then joined hands with Morgan, as the duo took on the Australian attack to guide their side to a position of strength.

The duo played contrasting innings on their way to their respective half-centuries. While Morgan sent the ball towards and over the fence freely during his knock, Taylor took his time and played a patient knock. The England skipper was once again ruthless in his approach, hitting seven boundaries and a six during his innings as compared to Taylor hitting just one boundary at the time of completing his half-century. England were once again guided to a strong start thanks to their top-order, although it was yet to be seen if they could sustain the momentum all the way to the last over.

Morgan was dismissed after attempting to smash his second six of the innings, getting caught by Mitchell Starc at long-off off the bowling of Glenn Maxwell. The hosts however, suffered a mini-collapse following the England skipper’s dismissal as the middle-order failed to put up any big scores while getting out cheaply. The Australians pacers managed to put up a decent performance in the death stage, conceding only 29 runs between overs 40 and 45 as the England batsmen struggled to score due to an attacking line and a great display of fielding. In the end, a resolute Taylor ensured that he got to his hundred and got his side within striking distance of the 300-run mark, with Chris Woakes (14 off 11) helping them reach that mark with a couple of big hits.

Australia would perhaps regret their sloppy fielding during the first half of the England innings, with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade embarrassingly missing out on a chance to stump Morgan when the latter was batting on 15. Their in-form batsmen however, will look to make up for those mistakes during their innings.

Brief scores:

England 300 for 8 in 50 overs (James Roy 63, James Taylor 101, Eoin Morgan 62; Pat Cummins 2 for 50, Glenn Maxwell 2 for 56) vs Australia.

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)