Momentum with England as series reaches climax

MANCHESTER: A week ago, Australia were leading the five-match One-day International (ODI) series against England 2-0, and were primed to ensure they didn’t come away from their two-and-a-half-month tour empty handed.
Fast forward a week, and things are markedly different. England, true to their reinvented status, have found a couple of extra gears and clawed back to make the series 2-2, making the final clash at Old Trafford on Sunday (today) a potentially riveting contest.
It’s not often easy to pinpoint a turning point in a series, but there is only one contender this time around — the highly controversial dismissal of Ben Stokes in the second game, at Lord’s. The incident, where Stokes was given out for obstructing the field, led to much bickering from both camps.
Stokes and Eoin Morgan argued that the outstretched hand, which had stopped the Mitchell Starc throw from going towards the stumps, was unintentional and instinctive and that Stokes shouldn’t have been given out. The Australians countered, saying they were well within the rules to appeal and that the TV umpire had made the right call.
Something about the incident sparked England to life, and they have been unstoppable since. In the third ODI in Manchester, they were dominant, putting in a solid all-round display to win by 93 runs after putting up 300.
Then they displayed their grit in the fourth ODI at Headingley on Friday, Morgan expertly shepherding a tricky chase of 300 to seal a three-wicket win.
Morgan personifies everything about England’s brave new era, leading from the front with a never-say-die attitude. The 92 on Friday was his third consecutive half-century of the series, and it prompted Pat Cummins to say afterwards, “he plays spin well, he plays pace well. When he’s going there certainly aren’t many options. He’ll be a key wicket on Sunday.”
England also have both their departments clicking in tandem. Morgan, James Taylor and Jason Roy are the top three run-scorers of the series so far, while Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali have been amongst the wickets.
David Willey, who replaced Steven Finn at Headingley, returned 3 for 51. Whether Finn will return to the XI for the final ODI remains to be seen, but England have their bases covered.
The same can’t quite be said of Australia. Cummins has impressed so far — he frequently crossed the 150-speed-barrier on Friday — with 12 wickets in four matches, but the rest of the pacemen have failed to keep up.
The fatigued Mitchell Starc was rested in Leeds after poor returns, meaning Australia have had to rely on the part-time spin of Glenn Maxwell for wickets.
As far as the batting is concerned, Australia have largely been reliant on their middle order — they were reduced to 30 for 3 by Willey on Friday before Maxwell, George Bailey and Matthew Wade scored half-centuries to revive the innings. Almost as if to rub it in, England then displayed the benefits of an explosive start, Roy and Taylor adding a quick 72 for the second wicket.
Ahead of the finale, the momentum clearly lies with England.
“Going into Sunday, the guys are full of confidence and really looking forward to it,” said Morgan on Friday.
“We have had a little bit of success so far this summer and hopefully that continues because if things go well that accelerates our learning as we go along. Sitting here at two-all, having beaten New Zealand 3-2, we are pretty confident.”
Win on Sunday and England would have gone through their home season unbeaten – the drawn Test series against New Zealand the only sharing of spoils. It will only motivate them further, but whether that counts for anything remains to be seen.
Teams (from):
England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan (captain), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Sam Billings, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Australia: Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Steve Smith (captain), Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), John Hastings, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Agar, George Bailey, Joe Burns, James Pattinson.