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Remember the days when the Australian cricket captain scored runs? Thankfully Steve Smith revived those memories with a 53-ball 90 in the only T20 international at Sophia Garden overnight.
AUSTRALIA VS ENGLAND T20 FULL SCOREBOARD
But it was all in vain as England won by five runs in a nail-biting finish.
Smith won the toss and decided to bowl, and the decision was working a treat until the 15th and 16th overs.
That’s when Smith’s opposite number Eoin Morgan cut loose with the score at 2-114.
Shane Watson bowled the 15th and was carted for 22, with Morgan smashing three sixes.
Pat Cummins went for 16 in the 16th over, with Morgan belting two more huge sixes.
Those 38 runs took England’s score to 2-152 and it was a vastly different ball game.
Morgan was out in the next over, caught by Watson on the midwicket ropes for 74 off just 39 that included three fours, and seven sixes.
His third wicket partnership with Moeen Ali, the most under-rated cricketer in England, realised 135 off 98 to set Australia a sizeable target of 5-182.
The Australian attack was very ordinary.
Mitchell Starc 1-32 off 4,
Nathan Coulter-Nile 1-24 off 4.
Pat Cummins 2-25 off 4.
Mitchell Marsh 0-21 off 2.
Marcus Stoinis 0-13 off 1.
Shane Watson 0-33 off 2.
And Cameron Boyce 0-19 off 1.
The Australians got off to a disastrous start with David Warner (4) and Watson (8) both back in the shed with the score at 12.
But it was Steve Smith to the rescue once again – along with the dubious talent of Glenn Maxwell who in the blink of an eye can be the hero or the bum.
This morning it was hero, and his 112-run third wicket stand of 72 had Australia well on track until Maxwell holed out a midwicket for 44 off 32, with six fours and a six.
Australia was home and hosed, providing the skipper stayed there and kept finding the ropes, or clearing them.
But on 90, Smith skied an attempted pull and Sam Billings did the necessaries.
The rest of the order showed their lack of cricket nous, especially Marcus Stoinis on debut.
Batting with the experienced keeper Matt Wade, Stoinis froze on a second run and ran Wade out.
Former captain Mark Taylor in summary predicted Stoinis will learn from the experience.
Ace it up ‘Tubby’, if Stoinis has to learn cricket nous at the top level, his international career will be very short.
His run out at a critical time was simply dumb cricket.
It all got down to the last Ben Stokes over with Australia needing 12 to win, or 11 for a super over.
But Stokes was up to it, taking three wickets. First there was the dumb Stoinis run-out of Wade where Stokes took the bails off, then he bowled Coulter-Nile, and ran out Cummins who never faced a ball.
On the bright side, Moeen Ali was rightfully named man of the match.
So England home by five runs,as both teams prepare for a five-game ODI series, starting Thursday at the Rose Bowl.
Then Lords (September 5), Old Trafford (September 8), Headingley (September 11), and Old Trafford again on September 13.