Eoin Morgan leads England to ODI win over Australia
World domination may be some way over the horizon but England at least took one more step towards full bragging rights over Australia, which is the next best thing.
Victories in the Ashes and World Twenty20 final had tipped the balance in England’s favour. But the 6-1 drubbing they received in their last 50-over series with Australia meant that the four-wicket victory, thanks to an unbeaten 103 by Eoin Morgan, in the first NatWest Series match at the Rose Bowl was a positive sign, but no more just yet.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat, but their enthusiasm got the better of them as their innings brought a succession of top-order batsmen - Shane Watson (32), Tim Paine (26) and Ricky Ponting (21) - who got going and then got out, with Michael Clarke the only one turning a start into an innings of real substance.
Clarke can look like someone who has forgotten that the coloured strip does not have a five-day use-by date. But runs count, flashy or otherwise, and he struck seven fours from 97 balls in his unbeaten 87 as 78 runs came from Australia’s final 10 overs.
It was slow going at first, Clarke taking 30 balls before collecting his first boundary, but thanks to partnerships of 70 with Mike Hussey and then 57 with James Hopes for the fifth and sixth wickets, Clarke steadied the ship and then steered a true course as he recorded his highest one-day international score which ensured that Australia set a challenging target for England of 267 for seven; with Luke Wright the best of the England bowlers, returning figures of two for 34.
The home side's pursuit of that target got off to a frenetic start as Andrew Strauss picked up two fours in Doug Bollinger's first over, only to then edge Ryan Harris behind on 10 when he tried to drive down the ground.
That brought Kevin Pietersen to join Craig Kieswetter at the wicket and the pair appeared set to wrest control from the bowlers until both were back in the pavilion by the 17th over, which included a first wicket at this level for Josh Hazlewood, a 19-year-old bowler who has been likened to Glenn McGrath. So, no pressure there, then.
The pressure was beginning to be applied on England when Paul Collingwood was out for 11, but Morgan is rapidly becoming a fixture in an England side when he still might be expected to be learning how to fit in. Assisted by Wright, they reached the 50 partnership in the 30th over, which also brought up the 150 mark for England.
Wright was not about to play the silent partner, as evidenced by the straight six he hit over Shane Watson’s head to bring England’s target down to less than 100 runs. Morgan reached his half-century off just 45 deliveries but he was clearly thinking of closing out the match, something that has not always come easily to England, but Morgan brings an air of calmness to his batting that is the preserve of the best.
An element of tension returned when Harris claimed the wicket of Wright, lbw for 36, but Morgan kept up the momentum as he put both Watson and Bollinger to the sword and he and Tim Bresnan – 27 off 29 deliveries - cut down the final part of the deficit with 24 balls to spare as Morgan claimed both his century and the victory with a boundary.
It was a third one-day international century for Morgan – one for Ireland and two for England – and earned him the man-of-the-match award. “I’ve been in good nick for a while now and I want to play more cricket so I can take advantage of it,” he said as he explained his unhurried approach to the task. “I try to keep things quite simple and it’s easy to do when you’re in good nick. It came off today so happy days.”
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