VIDEO: Australia’s one-sided victory in final and other highlights from England tour of Australia
England tour of Australia 2015 recap
England ended their triangular series campaign on disappointing note in the final when they were beaten by a margin of 112 runs at the hands of Australia at the WACA Ground in Perth. It brought the curtains down on a tournament that saw mixed performances from the Englishmen.
England started off their tour with a two warm-up matches. The first one was against the ACT Invitational XI, in which England posted a total of 364 for six before bowling the opposition out for a paltry 148. The second warm-up against the Prime Minister’s XI was a little more evenly contested, England reached 391 for six at the end of 50 overs, before the PM’s XI were bowled out for 331.
England lost the series opener at the Sydney Cricket Gorund (SCG) to Australia by three wickets, with skipper Eoin Morgan‘s fighting knock of 121 going in vain. Their second game of the series, this time against India, displayed them at their dominating best as they bowled India out for mere 153, before chasing the target down with 135 balls and nine wickets to spare.
In their third game, England got the better of the Australian attack as they finished on a total of 303 for eight, with Ian Bell scoring an 125-ball 141. The hosts however, managed to outperform them once again as they rode on skipper Steven Smith‘s brilliant unbeaten century to win by three wickets. The penultimate match of the series saw England bowl India out for 200, with Ajinkya Rahane top-scoring with knock of 73. The Indian bowling attack managed to run through the England top-order, reducing them to 66 for five at one stage. James Taylor (82) and Jos Buttler added 125 runs for the sixth wicket to setup close three wicket win.
The final turned out to be one-sided affair, as Australia set a 279-run target for England, before dismissing the visitors out for 166. Glenn Maxwell turned out to be the star player of the match as he scored 95 runs and recorded a haul of four for 46.