England v Australia - NatWest Series [http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 to 6-wicket win over Australia
Half-tons by Shane Watson and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RS-Bopara-c2373, secured a comfortable 6-wicket victory in
the 2nd ODI of the ongoing NatWest Series, played at the Kennington Oval in London on July 1.
Both sides went into the match missing key elements of their bowling attacks – England’s http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Iftikhar-Ali-Khan-Pataudi-Nawab-of-c64075 Cummins succumbed to a side strain during the first ODI, which has
ruled him out of the remainder of the series.
Australia won the opportunity to take to the crease first on a batsman-friendly track, but their respectable batting performance was followed by a poor showing by the bowlers, who were unable to restrict England. Despite the abrupt retirement of star batsman
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KP-Pietersen-c1806 in May this year, the Poms do not appear to have suffered any significant side-effects, with Bell having stepped up to fill the void.
Chasing 252 from 50 overs, England opened their innings with Cook, and Bell, and the two openers established a steady foundation of 40 runs for their side. While the skipper was unable to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adrian-Roger-Kirshaw-Pierson-c42135 it out at the crease, and found himself dismissed at 18, lbw,
by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CJ-McKay-c1265 in the 7th over, Bell followed up his recent impressive ODI scores of 126, 53, and 41 with a solid 75.
His 41-run partnership with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326. However, the team’s innings were anchored by his 90-run 3rd wicket stand with
Player of the Match Ravi Bopara (82), which brought the total up to 171 by the 34th over.
The partnership came to an end when http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Eoin-Joseph-Gerard-Morgan-c56032 also went on to register an unbeaten 43, in addition to
establishing a 79-run partnership with Bopara. Despite the latter’s sudden run out in the 46th over, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Morgan-c77707 successfully completed the chase, getting his side up to 252 with 26 deliveries remaining.
The Aussies’ rusty bowling attack was unable to defend the total their batsmen had painstakingly put on the board. The opening stand between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Watson-c2558 (66) yielded only 15 runs, but after the former’s dismissal at the hands of Steven
Finn, Watson and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Peter-Forrest-c2176 set up a 51-run partnership, which got the tourists up to 66 by the 15th over.
Following Forrest’s departure courtesy http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 stepped up to the crease, but only managed 10 runs, after which Bopara stepped in to eliminate him. Coming in at number 5, Bailey contributed 65 runs, and set up a 78-run stand with David
Hussey (29) – however, their efforts went in vain, as the 252-run target the visitors set was easily chased by the hosts.
Their most recent victory grants the Poms a 2-0 lead in the series, in addition to the chance to upset Australia’s top ODI status, thus becoming the first team to dominate the top spot on the ICC’s rankings in all three formats of the game (England are currently
the number 1 Test and T20 team). Their recent win marks their eighth successive ODI victory this year, and should they go on to secure a 5-0 series win, the top ODI spot will be theirs.
With this goal in mind, Alastair Cook’s men will be looking to continue their winning streak as they go into the third match of the series, scheduled to be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham on July 4.
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