Picture Courtesy : The Indian Express
England registered a world record total of 481 for 6 against Australia in their third One-Day International (ODI) cricket match . Alex Hales (147 off 92) and opener Jonny Bairstow (139 off 92) plundered Australian bowlers all around the park as England bettered their previous world’s highest total of 444/3 set in 2016 against Pakistan.
Jason Roy (82 off 61) and Eoin Morgan (67 off 30) also contributed handsomely to England’s cause as the hosts put up a massive total that could seal the series for them in the third match, after wins in the first two matches in London and Cardiff.
Put into bat, Bairstow and Roy gave England a flying start, putting up 159 for the opening wicket in 19.3 overs.
Roy ran himself out while running for a second run in the third ball over of the 20th over which he played to the deep square leg. D’Arcy Short put in a throw in time to glovesman Tim Paine to catch Roy short of the crease.
Hales joined Bairstow in the middle and the duo added to the solid foundation.
The duo made every Australian bowler struggle as they shared a massive 151-run partnership for the second wicket and also notched up their respective centuries in quick time.
Bairstow brought his six ODI ton off a delivery from Short as the England opener slammed a massive hit into the stands in the 26th over.
The duo went on to take Eangland past the 300-run mark in just 33.2 overs. Pacer Jhye Richardson came with the much needed breakthrough for the visitors as Bairstrow was caught at deep-midwicket by Ashton Agar in the 35th over.
Hales on the other hand continued to build the England innings but lost his incoming partner Jos Buttler quickly as the wicketkeeper fell cheaply on an individual score of 11 runs as the host’s scorecard read 335/3.
Australia’s little success was shortlived as Hales and Eoin Morgan notched up another century partnership, adding 124 runs together for the fourth wicket. In the course of the action, Hales also slammed his 6th ODI ton off just 62 deliveries.
With England’s score reading 459 runs, Richardson gave two successive blows to the host, dismissing both the batsmen in the 47th over but it was however, a bit too late. Morgan played a quickfire cameo of 30-ball 67 while Hales departed after contributing a massive 147 off 92 deliveries. While Hales scintillating knock contained 16 fours and five sixes, Morgan hit three boundaries and six hits in to the stands.
Bairstow’s hundred was his fourth in six ODIs while Hales’s century on his Nottinghamshire home ground ended a run of low scores.
Meanwhile England captain Eoin Morgan became the country’s all-time leading run-scorer in this format during a 67 that featured 21-ball fifty — England’s quickest in men’s ODIs.
Moeen Ali’s 11 followed by unbeaten Joe Root and David Willey’s four and a run in the final moments took England to a record 481 runs in the allotted 50 overs.
Richardson was the lone successful bowler for Australia after bagging three wickets but leaked 92 runs from his 10 overs.
Australia captain Tim Paine used eight bowlers before the 25th over, having sent England into bat.
But an attack missing injured Ashes-winning fast bowlers Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, struggled for line and length in overcast conditions on a ground favouring swing bowling, with medium-pacer Andrew Tye’s nine wicketless overs costing 100 runs.
Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar thought he had Bairstow lbw for 27 when he missed a sweep but the batsman’s review showed the ball, surprisingly, missing leg stump.
Meanwhile , faced with a massive target of 482, Australia — missing star batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner, both given year-long bans for their roles in March’s ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town — slumped to 239 all out with 13 overs left in the match.
England spinners Adil Rashid (four for 47) and Moeen Ali (three for 28), with a mountain of runs behind them, shared seven wickets.
