Despite centuries from Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh at Chester-le-Street early this morning, the Australians were still crushed by six wickets by England with 32 deliveries spare.
England goes into the fifth and final ODI at Old Trafford on Sunday seeking its first series whitewash against the old enemy.
And unless there’s a dramatic change in fortunes by the Australians, that record is simply there for the taking.
But this morning there was a glimmer of hope early on with the Australian top order of Finch (100), Marsh (101), and Travis Head (63) compiling 264 to outscore England’s top three of Jason Roy (101), Jonny Bairstow (79), and Alex Hales (34*) with their 214.
The combined two-team top order total of 478 is the highest ever set on English soil.
But Australia’s 264 cut a huge hole in their total of 310, with only Ashton Agar’s 19 reaching double figures, the rest collectively looked like a long distance telephone number.
Australia should have reached at least 350 with the start they had, but they simply weren’t good enough with England’s paceman David Willey capturing 4-8 off just two overs at the end.
It doesn’t seem to matter what total Australia sets, England has them comfortably covered.
And one of the main reasons is the inept Australian attack that keeps getting slaughtered by a superb England batting order.
How can these Australians reach international level when they can’t bowl line and length which are essential basic fundamentals?
You would think short and wide would have been drilled out of them at grade level, long before they reached state level.
Obviously not.
Left arm orthodox spinner Agar is an exception.
He will never be picked because of his average that hovers above 66, but first picked with his economy rate around six an over.
Agar is a line and length merchant, and this morning he did both in bowling Joe Root, and having the skipper Eoin Morgan caught behind to finish with the best figures of 2-48 off eight.
The rest of the Australian attack managed little for plenty as canon fodder for eager England batsmen.
Simply, the overall Australian attack is an embarrassment to watch, and until they get the basics right, or even close to right, they will continue to be an embarrassment.
That’s taking nothing away from England’s exciting batting, it’s just making it far easier to tee off.
The biggest disappointment on this nightmare tour has been all-rounder Marcus Stoinis who is very capable of being a team leader with both bat and ball.
But he’s gone MIA.
He’s scored just 76 runs from four visits to the crease, with a top score of 44 before Glenn Maxwell ran him out at Trent Bridge with a ridiculous call – average 19.
With the ball he’s bowled 24 overs in taking 1-186 with an economy rate just under eight.
It’s worth repeating that next Sunday at Old Trafford the Australians have their last chance to stand up and be counted.
But don’t hold your breath waiting for what seems a miracle.
Raz
Guest
Best spin attack ?? Please.XD
Nudge
Guest
Let’s not forget Roy Bairstow, and Hales can go hard because they know there is still some serious batting still to come. I mean England have Morgan at 5 and Butler at 6 and even Moeen at 7. We have Carey at 5 Paine at 6 and Agar at 7. When you have Carey at 5 the openers can’t just come out and chance there arm, because they know the game could be over in the first 10 overs if we are 2 or 3 for not many
cos1
Guest
Excellent comment!
Dan in Devon
Guest
Finch is not the problem. He consistently scores and offers stability to the order. The trouble is there are too many Finches and not enough power hitters to be able to put the English bowling attack under pressure. Paine should open and take on the role of pinch hitter. He offers nothing batting down the order when more fieldsmen are allowed outside the circle.
KenoathCarnt
Guest
Yes!!! OmG could not agree more the sky media is going absolutely nuts over it so frustrating. Playing on flat pitches with small boundaries against Australia's B team already announcing how they have the WC in the bag lol. Pakistan completely destroyed them in the Champions Trophy and India will probly fo the same. The only hope they have is playing the important games on pitches were they know it comes down to who hits the most sixes rather then bowling quality on a fair pitch.
Jackpott
Guest
More like C grade or D grade attack.
KenoathCarnt
Guest
Great to see 2 spinners!!! Finally they did great in the middle. Lyon will only get better and Agar is really starting to shine as an all rounder. Game 5 team Head Finch S.Marsh Carey Stoinis Maxwell Agar Neser K.Richardson Stanlake Lyon WC Squad Finch Warner S.Marsh Smith Carey Stoinis Agar Cummins Starc Coulter Nile Lyon
KenoathCarnt
Guest
Great to see 2 spinners!!! Finally they did great in the middle. Lyon will only get better and Agar is really starting to shine as an all rounder. Game 5 team Head Finch S.Marsh Carey Stoinis Maxwell Agar Neser K.Richardson Stanlake Lyon WC Squad Finch Warner S.Marsh Smith Carey Maxwell Agar Cummins Starc Coulter Nile Lyon
Rellum
Roar Guru
I imagine a top 7 of is probably what is going to happen. Mitch Marsh and Maxwell can easily go at a clip in the middle order. Then backing them up would be Stoinis. I can't seen Lynn ever playing again. Finch Warner (If he comes back) S.Marsh Smith Maxwell M.Marsh Paine/Carey To answer your question though, no I do not think there are any standout outs.
Reece
Guest
I really rate Joel Paris and would love to see him get another go in the ODI squad. Tremain definitely deserved to be in the squad after being the best bowler through the Sheffield Shield season. Maybe later on the likes of Jhye Richardson and Billy Stanlake will become decent ODI bowlers but right now T20 Internationals are were they're at.
maverick
Roar Rookie
Why Stoinis shouldn't be near the team,riddler?He averages 50 at a strike rate of 100.He has been stuffed around the batting order(He has batted at 3,4,6 in his 15 odd matches.)And you can't blame his bowling when the frontline quicks going for plenty.
Matt H
Roar Guru
One of the big reasons we are struggling is that we have plenty of reasonable top order options, but very few adequate middle order bats. Maxwell was injured, Stoinis is terribly out of form, M Marsh is injured. Bailey is gone. Head is more a top order player. Finch has now been tried and must return to opening. Agar is willing but limited, Paine is not a top class ODI bat. Carey opens for his state side. So until Maxwell and Marsh are back (and maybe even then) we have this big hole between 4 and 8. We have no Hussey to accelerate, or Bevan to calculate and finish. I'm not sure who in the state teams can take on that role, but one to think about is Ashton Turner. He has been filling that role quite well for WA in the last couple of seasons. Is there anybody else?
I no
Guest
George his career strike rate is around 80 maybe under 17 go's in Odis Sr of 86 and in T20 strike rate of 132 so talk rubbish somewhere else.
Matt H
Roar Guru
The Indians might have something to say about the best spin attack, but the one thing that can't be denied is that the Australian batsmen make them look like Warne and Murali reincarnated.
Matt H
Roar Guru
You also have to remember that after the 'big three' our next two (possibly) in line, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Jason Behrendorff are injured, as is James Pattinson. So we really are scraping the bottom at the moment. They could have brought in Joel Paris for left arm variety (but he seems to be injured a fair bit right now) or tried Tremain, but that's it.
Pom
Guest
Sorry lads but you've all missed the real reason why you've not shown up on this tour. Someone forgot to pack the sandpaper. Get over it - and learn to play cricket again.
David a Pom
Guest
Sub-par total by Australia - they are 2 years behind what the modern ODI game demands. To be fair though, England do have the best spin attack in the world. Rashid the attacking leggie, Moeen providing the defensive option but importantly spinning the ball a different way.
Reece
Guest
310 was never going to be enough but the way England knocked it off with ease is just simply embarrassing. The top order might've fired but all got out at crucial times when they needed to put the foot down. Goes to show how bad our fast bowling depth in this country is though. We could've repeated England's 481 and our bowlers still wouldn't have the skill to defend it. The problem with Aussie cricket is we don't have star players that only play certain formats. We rely on Starc, Hazelwood and Cummins to get the job done in all formats and there bodies just simply can't take it.
JayG
Guest
Sure, Aus has problems. Might I suggest, however, that Eng might be peaking too early for their liking..
Perry Bridge
Guest
#George I think young Short is proof enough the BBL form doesn't translate to ODI form. So - let's not get too distracted by Khawaja's SR for the Thunder. Re 3-250 off 270 balls. And blaming the openers. Finch and Head and Marsh got Australia to 1-225 off 234 balls. Alas - progress to 4-256 off 267 balls. (so, not quite 3-250 off 270). They were actually 4-258 at the end of the 45th (off 270). And to that point Marsh was on 70 off 81.....so, no one had been slower than he!!! We lost 3-32 off those next 33 balls (including Finch off the 235th ball after bringing up his 2nd 50 off 40 balls - so at that point going at S/R of 125 and a shame he got out when he did). Clearly - a run a ball from overs 40 to 45 is not gonna get the job done. I don't see how you can lay all the blame on the openers? S.Marsh then got the wagon moving - 40 runs partnership with Carey (6 off 5), as Marsh went from 50 off 62 to 101 off 91 before perhaps unluckily getting well caught. That was 40 off 15 balls to the end of the 47th over. Then, 4 for 14 off the last 18 balls. So - 2 clear patches, overs 40-45 and 48-50. Is Marsh excused? He was 58 off 65 when Finch got out. Stoinis going straight away didn't help - - the possible reverse swing might have spooked them?? Overs 40 (2-3), 41 (0-4), 42 (0-3), even 43 (0-7) - were horrid, that was 2-17 off 4, the 44th produced 10 but with Agar out in the 45th the momentum was lost. Marsh had gone from 58 off 65 to 70 off 81 in that time, so 12 off 16. He finally kicked into gear, and suddenly slammed 30 off the next 10 balls. That and that Head went from 50 off 43 to out for 63 off 64 and then gave his wicket away on a long hop.