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England and Australia go head-to-head at Headingley in the fourth of five ODIs, with the hosts having fought back on a slow pitch last game. Join us on The Roar for all the action from 7:30pm (AEST).
Needing a win to stay in the series, England bounced back to crush the Aussies in the third match thanks to a James Taylor century and resounding efforts from their spinners.
After winning a crucial toss and batting first for the first time, England looked set to get themselves to more than 330 at one stage. However, a late-order collapse saw them post a total of 300. Not that it mattered too much, given the nature of the surface.
At the toss, England captain Eoin Morgan explained his decision to bat first, attributing it to the dry-looking pitch, which he said would get slower in the second half of the innings.
That’s exactly how it panned out, and with Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in their line-up, England managed to exploit whatever help they got from the surface.
In reply, Australia lost Joe Burns early but Aaron Finch’s straight-driving in the first match of his return led to rising hopes. Once he departed however, the rest of the batsmen failed to adjust to what had become a proper slow surface.
The Rashid-Ali combination bowled 20 overs and conceded just 73, in turn picking up five wickets. That’s back-breaking under normal circumstances, but when a side is chasing upward of 300, it’s a match-winning haul.
England go into the fourth match with a lot of confidence as a result, while Australia need to pick up the pieces and ensure the loss of David Warner, Shane Watson and Nathan Coulter-Nile doesn’t continue to hurt them.
Mitchell Starc had an awful day with the ball, conceding 79 from his 10 overs, but a lot of it can be put down to the fact he has been on tour for far too long now. No other bowler from either side has played in as many games as Starc and there’s a sense ofjadedness.
England will have to make do without Chris Woakes, ruled out because of a thigh injury, and they may look at trying out Reece Topley or David Willey in his place.
Follow the live scores and blog of this fourth ODI between England and Australia from 7:30pm (AEST), and add your comments in the section below.
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