4th ODI: England vs Australia at Headingley

109/3 now..
Morgan should carry forward from here.


A hard dismissal for Taylor..Wade was brilliant enuf to pouch it.

123

22.3
Maxwell to Morgan, SIX, goes after him and sends this into orbit..!

That will come down with snow on it somewhere deep in the western terrace  ;D
 

Half Way : 150 Up !

A magnificent win for England. Their third highest ever ODI run chase. Prior to this year, they had chased down 300 only twice, they have now done so twice in 9 matches this summer.

For those that didn't see Maxwell's two catches, I strongly suggest watching replays. They were absolute stunners. They don't get much better than that.

So, about that whitewash...  ;D


*****

This series is really pretty meaningless given that both sides are severely weakened due to injuries and players being given rest after a long summer. Both sides were rather sloppy in this match, both in the field (there were a number of dropped catches) and also with the ball too (far too many half volleys).

Still, winning breeds confidence and more than anything, this is a completely different England team than the one that showed up at the World Cup, both in terms of personnel and attitude.

Whats bothering Alex Hales ? 

It's certainly cause for concern, especially as he had been in such great form during the county season - both in four-day and limited over matches. Hales has so much talent and is a real game changer, especially in white ball cricket, that I am sure the selectors will stick with him for an extended period of time. In saying that, in 19 ODIs to date, he is averaging just 22.44 with a high score of 67, so he is woefully under performing his ability. Hopefully this series doesn't affect his confidence, especially, as is expected, he is chosen to open the batting with Cook against Pakistan in the UAE.

In his defense, Pat Cummins has been a real handful for England in the ODI series. I am just thankful that he was overlooked for the Test series until everything was decided. He is going to be a major pain for England over the next decade plus.

England have played well above expectations to come back from  2-0 down against Australia. By and large they have played bright but tough cricket.