England vs Australia : Fourth ODI

Yesterday, fourth ODI was played between the hosts, England and Australia at The Oval, London. England has already won the first 3 ODI matches leading Australia by 3-0 thereby winning the series even though 2 more matches was yet to be played. England won the toss & elected to field first.

As usual Shane Watson and Tim Paine went to bat first for the Australians. Shane Watson was out when we had scored 41 runs and Tim Paine returned to pavilion when he had scored 8 runs. By 16.3 overs, Australia had lost only 2 wickets scoring 73 runs in total. Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke played very magnificently to score 92 runs and 99 runs respectively. They both shared a partnership of 155 runs from 154 deliveries which helped Australians to put up a very good total. At 42.1 over, Ricky Ponting got out giving a straight catch to Andrew Strauss bowled by James Anderson. Michael Clarke was unbeaten till the end of the Australian Innings. After 50 overs, Australia scored 290 runs in total loosing 5 wickets.

England needed 291 runs from 50 overs to get their 4th consecutive victory in the series. Australians, though they have lost the series, they had to win this match against the England. It was supposed to be an prestige issue for both the teams.

Andrew Strauss and Craig Kieswetter started the batting innings for England. They did not bat that well and did not stay longer in the crease. England could not resist the bowling attack from the Australians. As a result they kept on loosing wickets in regular intervals. Their run rate was dropping every time. No one had put up a good partnership which could have made some difference. Eion Morgan and Michael Yardy could not stay till the end as they departed scoring 47 and 57 runs respectively. By 42.4 overs, England lost all its 10 wickets and had scored just 212 runs in total. Australia therefore won the match by 78 runs, which was an easy win for them. Ryan Harris bowled excellent for the Australia as he took 5 wickets and his economy rate was just 3.69 runs per over. Finally, Australia has opened its account in this series and the stat has become 1-3. Though Australia have won the match, the point is that they have already lost the series, they have to play for pride.