Maxwell, Carey hit centuries as Aussies claim series in thriller

Published September 18, 2020
GLENN Maxwell (L) celebrates with fellow century-maker Alex Carey after reaching three figures.—AP
GLENN Maxwell (L) celebrates with fellow century-maker Alex Carey after reaching three figures.—AP

MANCHESTER: Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey both hit brilliant hundreds as Australia sealed a dramatic series win over world champions England in the third and final One-day International at Old Trafford on Wednesday night (partly reported in Thursday’s edition).

Australia, chasing a target of 303, were all but out of the game at 73-5 when Maxwell came to the crease. But an Australia record sixth-wicket stand of 212 between Carey (106) and Maxwell (108) helped give the tourists a 2-1 success as England suffered their first home ODI series defeat in five years.

Earlier, Jonny Bairstow had revived England from the depths of 0-2 with a superb hundred that saw them to 302-7 after the opener watched from the other end as left-arm quick Mitchell Starc removed Jason Roy and Test captain Joe Root with the first two balls of the game.

Sam Billings (57) and Chris Woakes (53 not out) also hit valuable fifties.

Maxwell’s hundred was just his second century in 113 matches at this level, with Carey’s innings the wicket-keeper’s maiden century in his 39th ODI.

But when Maxwell holed out off leg-spinner Adil Rashid, Australia still needed 18 off 15 balls. That became 10 off six when Carey, whose century came off 106 balls, was superbly caught by a diving Mark Wood at third man off Jofra Archer.

New batsman Starc, however, hit his first ball, from Rashid, for six and sealed victory with two balls to spare with a four.

“It probably wasn’t the ideal situation when I came in but being the last batter, I suppose I had a bit of license to go for it right from the start,” Maxwell, who named man-of-the-match as well as man-of-the-series, said. “We thought if we could take it as deep as we could, myself and Alex, we might be a chance at the back end.”

England captain Eoin Morgan said Australia were ‘too good for us’, adding: “To lose two wickets for no runs and then post over 300 is a huge positive for us. I think Jonny Bairstow was outstanding. But Carey and Maxwell also played outstandingly well.”

England were left to rue the Carey being caught on nine off an Archer no-ball as they ended a coronavirus-hit season by suffering their first series defeat in 18 matches across all formats.

Australia’s success was all the more creditable as star batsman Steve Smith missed all three matches after suffering a head injury batting in the nets.

Pace bowler Woakes took the first two wickets early in Australia’s chase, having captain Aaron Finch lbw and Marcus Stoinis caught off a leading edge at midwicket.

And Australia were 55-4 when Morgan saw his decision to bring on Root rewarded by the occasional off-spinner taking two wickets for three runs in six balls.

Root clean bowled David Warner (24) with a fine delivery that angled into the left-hander before turning sharply away. He then had all-rounder Mitchell Marsh spooning a simple catch to wicket-keeper Jos Buttler.

And when Marnus Labuschagne was run out, Australia were 73-5 in the 17th over.

But the big-hitting Maxwell, the last of recognised batsmen, took advantage of a short boundary and brought up an 84-ball hundred with his seventh six, off medium-pacer Tom Curran.

Asked what he was feeling as he walked out to bat, Maxwell said: “I was probably feeling we had nothing much to lose. I suppose coming in at 70-5, it is probably hit or bust at that stage.

“If you lose another wicket in the next five or 10 overs it is pretty hard to expect the bowlers to do the job at the back.

“Having trust in my own technique and in my partner at the other end, myself and Alex have had some good partnerships over the last few of years and I really enjoyed batting with him at the other end.”

Finch offered his gratitude to Maxwell. “What makes him so damaging is that he can play all around the ground, I don’t think there are many bowlers around the world that can trouble him when he’s having one of those sorts of days.”

Morgan was upbeat at the end of a hard-fought campaign.

“The positive of the series is knowing we can win games of cricket when we don’t play our best game,” he said. “I know we’ve not played our best but the character and resilience we’ve showed has been brilliant.”

ENGLAND:

J.J. Roy c Maxwell b Starc 0

J.M. Bairstow b Cummins 112

J.E. Root lbw b Starc 0

E.J.G. Morgan c Starc b Zampa 23

J.C. Buttler c Finch b Zampa 8

S.W. Billings c Marsh b Zampa 57

C.R. Woakes not out 53

T.K. Curran b Starc 19

Adil Rashid not out 11

EXTRAS (LB-8, W-10, NB-1) 19

TOTAL (for seven wkts, 50 overs) 302

FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-0, 3-67, 4-96, 5-210, 6-220, 7-266.

DID NOT BAT: J.C. Archer, M.A. Wood

BOWLING: Starc 10-0-74-3 (2w); Hazlewood 10-0-68-0 (1w); Cummins 10-0-53-1 (2w); Zampa 10-0-51-3; Marsh 6-0-25-0 (1nb, 3w); Maxwell 4-0-23-0 (2w).

Scoreboard

AUSTRALIA:

D.A. Warner b Root 24

A.J. Finch lbw b Woakes 12

M.P. Stoinis c Morgan b Woakes 4

M. Labuschagne run out 20

M.R. Marsh c Buttler b Root 2

A.T. Carey c Wood b Archer 106

G.J. Maxwell c Roy b Rashid 108

P.J. Cummins not out 4

M.A. Starc not out 11

EXTRAS (LB-5, W-8, NB-1) 14

TOTAL (for seven wkts, 49.4 overs) 305

FALL OF WKTS: 1-21, 2-31, 3-51, 4-55, 5-73, 6-285, 7-293.

DID NOT BAT: A. Zampa, J.R. Hazlewood

BOWLING: Woakes 10-0-46-2; Archer 9-0-60-1 (1nb, 4w); Wood 9-1-40-0 (2w); Root 8-0-46-2 (1w); Curran 6-1-40-0 (1w); Adil Rashid 7.4-0-68-1.

RESULT: Australia won by three wickets to win three-match series 2-1.

UMPIRES: R.K. Illingworth (England) and A.G. Wharf (England).

TV UMPIRE: R.A. Kettleborough (England).

MATCH REFEREE: B.C. Broad (England).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Glenn Maxwell.

MAN-OF-THE-SERIES: Glenn Maxwell.

FIRST MATCH: Old Trafford, Australia won by 19 runs.

SECOND MATCH: Old Trafford, England won by 24 runs.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2020

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