Australia vs England 2018, 2nd ODI: 5 things we learnt from the match

#1 Starc scythes through middle-order as Root holds firm

Mitchell Starc stormed in for Australia after being wayward initially

Just when it looked like England would cruise to the target set, Mitchell Starc overcame his initial blues and bowled a searing spell that accounted for Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali. The left-arm quick separated the Joe Root-Eoin Morgan pair by sending back the skipper and then dismissed Buttler and Ali in the same over with his reverse swing to send England into panic-mode.

Starc found significantly more swing in his last two overs as it started to reverse. First 8 overs average swing: 0.56°Last 2 overs: 1.63°#AusvEng

— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) January 19, 2018

Amidst the ruins, Joe Root held firm for the visitors and found an ally in Chris Woakes. Together, the Englishmen kept creeping to the below par target set by the hosts on a flat Brisbane wicket. Root, with his quick singles and doubles, did not bother to try for boundaries and settled on playing the sheet anchor role.