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Once again, it was the might of the Englishmen that prevailed over the Australians in an almost one-sided encounter at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. In what was expected to be a serious comeback for Punter’s boys, the team instead came out with a mediocre performance in the match – something that is not expected from the world champions.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Opener Shane Watson got off to a flyer which indicated that the Aussies were in for revenge with full form. His 57 off 59 balls included 8 fours. But before he could establish a stable partnership, his partner Tim Paine fell to Stuart Broad in the form of their 1st wicket. The Australian fans would have expected their skipper to play a captain’s innings if they were to make an impact. Unfortunately, Ponting could not stay at the crease for more than 21 deliveries and fell as Broad’s second wicket. Michael Clarke continued to disappoint and returned to the pavilion early. But it was Cameron White who stole the show with his classy batting and helped the struggling team reach a respectable total. Watson was dismissed soon after by Luke Wright. Along with Steven Smith’s helpful knock of 41 runs, Australia achieved a total of 239 runs at the loss of 7 wickets in 50 overs. England’s Stuart Broad was excellent with the ball and got away with 4 crucial and match-turning wickets. Craig Kieswetter too, was impressive behind the stumps with 3 catches in his kitty.
Trending
With the target like that, the Englishmen could have easily relaxed in the dressing room. But they were not at all complacent when they came out to bat. The skipper was in the best of his form and went after the bowlers. And with the likes of Pietersen, Collingwood and centurion Eoin Morgan listed in the middle-order batting line-up, the Aussies could have only hoped for miracles to save them from losing. Australian bowling seems to have lost the depth which once upon a time dominated world cricket. The not-so-experienced bowling attack only helped the Englishmen reach closer to their target. A fantastic half century from Strauss, Morgan and an important knock of 48 coming from Collingwood took away the game from the helpless Aussie side. The only bowler who did his bit and was impressive was Doug Bollinger who managed to take 3 wickets, but it proved futile due to England’s strong determination and passion to win that was reflected well in their batting display.
Struart Board
England, thus clinched the 2nd ODI by 4 wickets with a 2-0 lead in the series.
Scorecard:
| Australia Innings | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |||
| Shane Watson | c C Kieswetter b L Wright | 57 | 59 | 8 | 0 | 96.61 | ||
| Tim Paine (W) | c C Kieswetter b S Broad | 16 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 55.17 | ||
| Ricky Ponting (C) | c C Kieswetter b S Broad | 13 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 61.90 | ||
| Michael Clarke | c G Swann b S Broad | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14.29 | ||
| Cameron White | not out | 86 | 98 | 7 | 2 | 87.76 | ||
| Michael Hussey | b James Anderson | 14 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 51.85 | ||
| Steven Smith | c P Collingwood b S Broad | 41 | 53 | 3 | 0 | 77.36 | ||
| James Hopes | run out (Tim Bresnan) | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 114.29 | ||
| Nathan Hauritz | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| Doug Bollinger | ||||||||
| Clint McKay | ||||||||
| Extras | (b 0,lb 0,w 2, nb 1) | 3 | ||||||
| Total | (7 wickets; 50 overs) | 239 | (4.78 runs per over) | |||||
Fall of Wickets (Australia):
1. 51/1 (10.3 ov) Tim Paine, 2. 67/2 (14.4 ov) Ricky Ponting, 3. 77/3 (16.6 ov) Michael Clarke, 4. 94/4 (21.3 ov) Shane Watson, 5. 118/5 (29.1 ov) Michael Hussey,6. 202/6 (45.5 ov) Steven Smith, 7. 238/7 (49.5 ov) James Hopes
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
| James Anderson | 10 | 1 | 63 | 1 | 6.30 | (w 1) |
| Tim Bresnan | 9 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 4.89 | (w 1) |
| Stuart Broad | 10 | 0 | 44 | 4 | 4.40 | |
| Luke Wright | 9 | 0 | 38 | 1 | 4.22 | (nb 1) |
| Michael Yardy | 8 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 3.88 | |
| Graeme Swann | 4 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 4.75 |
| England Innings | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |||
| Andrew Strauss (C) | c & b Nathan Hauritz | 51 | 56 | 3 | 2 | 91.07 | ||
| Craig Kieswetter (W) | c T Paine b D Bollinger | 8 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 114.29 | ||
| Kevin Pietersen | c R Ponting b S Smith | 33 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 86.84 | ||
| Paul Collingwood | b Doug Bollinger | 48 | 65 | 2 | 2 | 73.85 | ||
| Eoin Morgan | c T Paine b D Bollinger | 52 | 64 | 3 | 0 | 81.25 | ||
| Luke Wright | b James Hopes | 10 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 71.43 | ||
| Tim Bresnan | not out | 12 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 63.16 | ||
| Graeme Swann | not out | 19 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | ||
| Michael Yardy | ||||||||
| Stuart Broad | ||||||||
| James Anderson | ||||||||
| Extras | (b 0,lb 2,w 3, nb 5) | 10 | ||||||
| Total | (6 wickets; 45.2 overs) | 243 | (5.36 runs per over) | |||||
Fall of Wickets (England) -
1. 23/1 (2.2 ov) Craig Kieswetter, 2. 91/2 (14.6 ov) Kevin Pietersen, 3. 109/3 (19.3 ov) Andrew Strauss, 4. 97/4 (19.6 ov) Paul Collingwood, 5. 211/5 (39.4 ov) Luke Wright, 6. 211/6 (40.2 ov) Eoin Morgan
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
| Doug Bollinger | 10 | 2 | 46 | 3 | 4.60 | (nb 2 w 2) |
| Clint McKay | 9.2 | 0 | 60 | 3 | 6.43 | (nb 3) |
| James Hopes | 5 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 6.00 | |
| Nathan Hauritz | 10 | 0 | 56 | 1 | 5.60 | (w 1) |
| Steven Smith | 8 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 5.00 | |
| Nathan Hauritz | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3.00 |
England beat Australia by 4 wickets.
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