ENGLAND IN AUSTRALIA, 2017-18

Finch sparkles but England keep Australia to 270

by Cricbuzz Staff • Published on

Aaron Finch's second consecutive hundred carried Australia to 270. © Getty

Aaron Finch registered his second successive hundred in the series but Australia's batting followed a familiar script of not making use of good starts as they finished with 270 for 9 after opting to bat in the second ODI against England in Brisbane on Friday (January 19). On either side of an 85-run partnership for the fifth wicket, Australia lost wickets in clusters which prevented them from finishing with a 300-plus total, which looked achievable at one stage.

On a batting beauty that allowed the batsmen to trust the bounce, England were guilty of bowling either too short or too full in the first 10 overs and the Australian openers capitalised. Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett between them conceded nine boundaries in the first nine overs (five fours off short deliveries) as the Australian openers went about their partnership in a rhythmic manner - putting away loose deliveries, ensuring strike rotation while cutting off any risks. It was only in the 11th over that Finch went for a lofted shot as he just about managed to clear Woakes at mid-on.

With the pace options proving ineffective, England turned to Moeen Ali in their attempt to put a plug on Australia's scoring and the offspinner did not disappoint. Operating with a slip against Warner, Moeen got the fielder into play as Joe Root, who was positioned there, held on to an outside edge from the left-hander's bat. Australia appeared wary to take on Moeen, happy to play him out, while they had a plan to unsettle legspinner Adil Rashid as both Finch and Steven Smith stepped down the pitch and went big.

England didn't take too long to remove Rashid from the attack and introduced Root instead, a move that paid rich dividends for the visitors. Having survived a review from England for a caught-behind appeal off Liam Plunkett, Smith didn't have the technology on his side when he was trapped in front by Root, with replays upholding the umpire's call. Travis Head then fell for a single-digit score for the second time in as many games, chipping one straight back to Root.

With the initial platform razed down by the quick wickets, Australia needed another solid partnership to regain their footing and aim for a strong total. The fourth-wicket pair went about doing just that although they had an ominous beginning to their stand as Finch earned a reprieve when he was put down by Jos Buttler off Moeen while Mitchell Marsh survived a run out attempt. But they got over that to put on a fine stand and yet again, it was a measured approach with the focus on strike rotation clubbed with timely boundaries, that put Australia on course for a good total.

However, this game too had shades of the previous ODI where Australia's wickets came like package offers. The see-saw nature of Australia's batting resulted in a slip in the previous game as they had slid to 205 for 5 ahead of the death overs after a century stand, which eventually cost them at least 20-30 runs. This time, they crumbled to 216 for 6, losing three wickets for seven runs in the space of three overs, which meant that they finished well behind where they would have preferred.

Cameron White, playing his first international game in nearly three years, failed to find the boundary even once. Barring four fours off Rashid by debutant Alex Carey and a six by Andrew Tye in the final over, no other boundaries were conceded by England in the last 10 overs - which yielded only 57 runs - highlighting the bowlers' discipline and persistence.

Brief scores: Australia 270/9 in 50 overs (Aaron Finch 106, Mitchell Marsh 36; Joe Root 2-31, Adil Rashid 2-71) vs England.

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