England vs. Australia: 5th ODI Preview
England may have sealed the deal by winning the first three matches on the trot but they are still thirsty and want to continue their dream run. Andrew Straus openly admitted that he was “annoyed” for not achieving a whitewash against the Australian team. In the final show down of the NatWest Series, Australia will play for grace and would like to go down gracefully. England would like to finish the tournament on a high note. Some critics have pointed out that tactical errors in the bowling lead to this defeat. However, Andrew Strauss played down the reason by saying, “We didn't get enough things right today, We got off to a pretty good start with the ball, but Clarke and Ponting played really well in the middle period, where we had done best in the first three games. We struggled to find ways of 'dotting them up', which was a little bit frustrating. We tried seven bowlers, but on a flat wicket it was easy to hit through the line of the ball”.
Ponting on the other hand lauded the character of his team for making a solid comeback after getting bashed in the first three ODI’s. Ponting lead the team from the front by scoring 92 runs off 93 balls. Ponting said, “We've lost the series, but it's nice to play well, and I'm proud of the boys for the way they played today, we’re not that far away, but you don't need to be that far away to be shown up in international cricket, like we were in the first three games. What I said to the boys this morning was that we had to keep backing their instincts and talents, and soon enough our best cricket was going to come out. I thought the way we controlled the game today was pretty good”.
The fifth ODI will take place at Lord’s on Saturday, on the 3rd of July. Ryan Harris is one player that will hold the key to Australia’s bowling attack. Ryan in recent times has been the answer to Australia’s bowling problems in the past. He has never gone wicket-less in his short career of sixteen matches. Harris has already bagged 40 wickets in his short ODI career and looks set to launch as an attacking Australian cricketer. Shane Watson needs to cash on his good form in almost all the remaining matches in the England tour. The player got a decent start but later failed to capitalize on it. England’s eight-match winning streak has come to an end but they would like to continue the good form, not to forget that England is the current T20 Champion. England has now developed a very dependable batting order. Support from the English openers followed by a solid middle order in the shape of Pietersen and Morgan provide solid support to the team. England would like their prime bowler James Anderson to find his form back in which he had mastered some accurate yorkers. If there was anything good that happened for England in the fourth ODI, it was the half century by Michael Yardy. Australia will play against Pakistan after their tussle with the English team and they would like to go into the series on a winning note. England later plays against Pakistan once the series against Australia comes to an end.
For England, it has almost been a modus operandi to bowl first for which Andrew Strauss has been criticized by various corners. Despite the criticism from the British press, Andrew Strauss has been very successful in gelling this team together as a unit. England rightly believes that they have a strong batting line which can chase any target against quality bowling. It may be true to some extent but this notion received a reality check in the fourth ODI, where they found it hard to play against the bowling of Ryan Harris. The series may have been decided but one thing is for sure that both teams will go all-out to win the last game. Australia may have saved the whitewash but they would like to end the series at a respectable 3-2. So Australia will play for pride while England will like to end the series by winning it comprehensively against their arch rivals.
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