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Jason Roy. (AP Image)
Preview:
The Steve Smith led Australian cricket team must beat England in the third ODI in Sydney on Sunday to keep the five match series alive. Post the Ashes drubbing of the visitors, this is an unexpected situation for the Aussies. Smith is all set to unleash the trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins on the English for the next ODI for the first time since the fifth Ashes Test. Hazlewood given a rest in Melbourne before he fell ill in Brisbane, while Cummins who played the first ODI, was left out at Gabba. At the SCG, both Hazlewood and Cummins are expected to join Starc as they look to inflict some damage on the English batting, just like the recently concluded Test series. Starc who has played the first two games of the series which England leads 2-0, wants to play all the five games even though he recently had heel injury that kept him out of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
“I’m alright,” Starc said. “Still three more ODIs to go and I’m planning to be available for all three. “So we’ll see how we go and just keep managing things and play it by ear and the medical staff and the selectors will be on the same page.” From the first two games Starc has a return of six wickets but admits that his transition from red ball to the white ball hasn’t been as fast as he would have liked it. “I haven’t played too much white ball cricket for a little while with a few injuries,” said Starc. “It’s taken me a little bit longer than I would have liked with the new ball. As a senior player I’ve got to step up.” “If Hazlewood and Cummins come back on Sunday it’s important that we start well against the aggressive English line-up.”
In the 50 over format, Australia have not been in the best of form recently and have won only one of their last 10 games, but the left arm pacer believes it’s all about playing your part. “I think we’ve got the right formula, we’ve just got to get that performance together where we’ve been off with the start of our bowling innings, we haven’t put a full batting innings together, he said. “We’ve definitely got the personnel and the talent to do it, just that execution part with this group at the moment.” “We’ve got a chance to do that on Sunday and will try to come back into the series and win it 3-2.” Wicketkeeper Tim Paine, who missed yesterday’s four-wicket loss in Brisbane, had a hit today is likely to resume his place in the line-up, with Gabba debutant Alex Carey to make way.
Australia Squad: Steven Smith (c), Alex Carey (wk), David Warner, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron White, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Jhye Richardson, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa, Tim Paine
England Squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood, Tom Curran, David Willey
Commentary (England innings)
11.6 M Stoinis to J Bairstow, No run. 57/2
11.5 M Stoinis to J Bairstow, Another brilliant stop! Pat Cummins, you beauty. 57/2
11.4 M Stoinis to J Bairstow, The batsman defends it from within the crease. 55/2
11.3 M Stoinis to Joe Root, Full and outside off, pushed through the covers where another good stop near the boundary saves a run. The Aussies have been intense so far on the field. 55/2
11.2 M Stoinis to J Bairstow, Short and outside off, Jonny slashes hard but Steven Smith at point flings himself acrobatically to his left to make a half stop. Himself runs towards the ball before third man can get across. Keeps the batsmen to a single. 52/2
Uh oh... Stoinis is in trouble. He comes running in but then aborts his runup. He then walks across to the umpire and points to his right eye. By the looks of it, seems like a fly has gone in. Yuck. Pests really like to make home wherever they find some space.
11.1 M Stoinis to J Bairstow, A length ball outside off, Bairstow slashes but misses. 51/2
10.6 Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Landed outside off, watchfully blocked. 51/2
10.5 Pat Cummins to J Bairstow, Full and outside off, Bairstow plays it with soft hands past short mid-wicket and gets one. 51/2
10.4 Pat Cummins to J Bairstow, On middle and off, worked straight to short mid-wicket. 50/2
10.3 Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Full and outside off, driven sweetly through mid off but it is cut off nicely with a slide to the left by the fielder. Just a run. 50/2
10.2 Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Outside off, pretty much full, shouldered arms to. 49/2
10.2 Pat Cummins to Joe Root, WIDE. A short ball down the leg side, Root looks to pull but misses. Cummins appeals for a catch down the leg side but the arm stretches horizontally instead of Cummins' thinking of vertically. 49/2
10.1 Pat Cummins to J Bairstow, Full on middle, flicked towards long leg for a single. 48/2
POWERPLAY 2 time. Four fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle till the 40th over.
9.6 M Stoinis to Joe Root, On middle and leg, Root tucks it through square leg for a couple to get off the mark. 3 runs and a wicket from Stoinis' opening over. 47/2
9.5 M Stoinis to Joe Root, The batsman defends it from within the crease. 45/2
Joe Root walks in now, at number 4, replacing Hales.
9.4 M Stoinis to A Hales, OUT! Hales falls cheaply! Stoinis roars. He has struck in his very first over. A nothing shot from Hales, to be honest. Both he and Roy have just thrown their wickets away. The line is straight and the length is full. For some reason, Hales looks to go over the top and mistimes it. The ball lands straight into the lap of Adam Zampa lapping the ground from mid on to his left. No need of this shot, England were going pretty decently. The frustration of scoring just 1 from 7 balls got to Hales. Replays show the bat twisting in his hand. 45/2
9.3 M Stoinis to J Bairstow, Banged in short, Bairstow swivels to pull but the ball comes on very slowly off the surface and he mistimes it through mid-wicket. A run taken. 45/1
9.2 M Stoinis to J Bairstow, Outside off, punched powerfully on the up past the bowler towards mid off. 44/1
9.1 M Stoinis to J Bairstow, Full and wide outside off, squeezed out towards backward point. 44/1
Marcus Stoinis into the attack. This pitch might just suit his style of bowling.
8.6 Pat Cummins to J Bairstow, Full and outside off, Bairstow drives it uppishly past the bowler through mid off but David Warner flies to his right and when he makes contact with Mother Earth, the ball is in his hand. Just one. 44/1
8.5 Pat Cummins to J Bairstow, Outside off, no room, watchfully defended. This pitch seems to be very slow. Driving is not that easy. 43/1
8.4 Pat Cummins to A Hales, Full and just outside off, Alex looks to push it through the off side but the ball goes off the inner half of the bat through mid on. Mitchell Starc gets across from mid on and puts in a tumble to hi left to stop the ball. A run taken. Seems to have hurt his elbow. 43/1
8.3 Pat Cummins to A Hales, Good length, outside off, Hales looks to punch it on the up through the off side but the feet do not move and the result is a bottom edge towards mid off. 42/1
8.2 Pat Cummins to A Hales, Very full, just outside off, dug out to the off side. 42/1
8.1 Pat Cummins to J Bairstow, Outside off, Bairstow looks to punch it through the off side but gets a thickish inside edge through square leg. Takes the single. 42/1
7.6 J Hazlewood to A Hales, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot but finds short mid-wicket. 41/1
7.5 J Hazlewood to A Hales, Outside off, punched towards cover. 41/1
7.4 J Hazlewood to A Hales, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. 41/1
7.3 J Hazlewood to A Hales, On a length outside off, watchfully blocked to the off side. 41/1
7.2 J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, Excellent timing, terrific fielding and wonderful running! Good cricket all around. The only thing bad about this was the line of the ball, down the leg side. Bairstow flicked it through square leg and once the ball made contact with the turf, it sped away like a bullet train towards the boundary. Pat Cummins from long leg started to jog initially but then, to keep up with the bullet train, he put in the hard yards and just about got to the ball with a desperate dive to his left, near the ropes. Hauled it in and the batsmen took three. 41/1
7.1 J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. 38/1
Alex Hales walks in at number 3, replacing Roy.
6.6 Pat Cummins to J Roy, OUT! The extra ball fetches a wicket for Australia! The dangerous Jason Roy is gone. A length ball outside off, pretty much similar to the ones Roy has been punching and driving so far in this innings, but this time, the opener looks to go over the top. That man at extra cover has been irritating Roy for quite a while now and he feels he has a chance, as a man moved from the off side towards first slip, meaning there was just that small gap. Roy looked to go over the top but Aaron Finch at short extra cover timed his leap to perfection to take the catch. Roy just stands there in disappointment before trudging off. 38/1
6.6 Pat Cummins to J Roy, WIDE. Sprays it way down the leg side, Jason is across his stumps and hence misses his tickle. That would have been a boundary. 38/0
A slip has come in now for the last ball of this Cummins over.
6.5 Pat Cummins to J Roy, Full and just outside off, Roy offers a dead bat in defense to the off side. 37/0
6.4 Pat Cummins to J Roy, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. 37/0
6.3 Pat Cummins to J Roy, Lovely timing. This guy is ready to bed in at the SCG. A length ball outside off, JR punches this beautifully but finds short extra cover. 37/0
6.3 Pat Cummins to J Roy, ANOTHER WIDE. This is on the shorter side, down the leg side again, Jason misses out on the pull. 37/0
6.2 Pat Cummins to J Roy, Another cracking shot, to a short ball, but finds Steven Smith at short point who has a pointless shy at the non-striker's end when Bairstow is nowhere short. 36/0
6.1 Pat Cummins to J Roy, FOUR! Super shot. On a length outside off, Roy gets on top of the bounce and punches it through the covers for a boundary. 36/0
6.1 Pat Cummins to J Roy, WIDE. Strays down the leg side, Roy misses his flick. 32/0
5.6 J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, Short and outside off, Jonny looks to cut but is beaten by the extra bounce. 31/0
5.5 J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, Outside off, steep bounce, pushed towards cover. 31/0
5.4 J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. 31/0
5.3 J Hazlewood to J Roy, Down the leg side, tickled fine for a run. 31/0
5.2 J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, Good run in the end. On a length outside off, Bairstow just dabs at it and gets a bit of a bottom edge. The ball is just beside him but he has no idea as he looks all over the place. Blindly trusts the partner and goes through for the single. Now, the naughty ball trickles back but misses the stumps! 30/0
No slips now. Everyone saving runs. Looks like a sub-continent wicket. The bowlers are bowling cross-seam.
5.1 J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, Full on middle, driven straight back to the bowler. 29/0
4.6 Pat Cummins to J Roy, Excellent start from Cummins. A maiden. Outside off, punched straight to cover. 29/0
4.5 Pat Cummins to J Roy, Outside off, punched straight to cover-point. Five dots... 29/0
4.4 Pat Cummins to J Roy, Outside off, on a length, JR feels for it but is beaten as the ball moves away pretty late. 29/0
4.3 Pat Cummins to J Roy, Uppish... but safe. Full and outside off, Jason pushes it uppishly but it lands short of David Warner at mid off. That ball was bowled at 142 kph, but seemed to come slowly off the pitch. Two-paced? Might not be a bad toss to lose. 29/0
4.2 Pat Cummins to J Roy, Walks down the track and this time Hazlewood is ready. Bowls a really good short ball, close to the body, Roy looks to tuck it away but misses and is hit on the body. He wants a single but is sent back as the ball is just beside him. 29/0
4.1 Pat Cummins to J Roy, On a length around off, watchfully defended. 29/0
A bowling change pretty early. Pat Cummins into the attack. Mark Taylor on air is not too surprised, reckoning that Smith might be saving Starc for the old ball for reverse swing.
3.6 J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, FOUR! BOSH! Full and wide outside off, Bairtsow has no second thought about this one as he leans into it and blasts it uppishly through the covers for a boundary! 12 from the over! 29/0
3.5 J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, A testing bouncer, Jonny thinks about pulling but then bails out. 25/0
3.4 J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, Short and outside off, Bairstow punches it past a diving point for a couple. 25/0
3.3 J Hazlewood to J Roy, Good shot again. Waits for the ball to come to him and guides it to third man past first slip for a run. 23/0
3.2 J Hazlewood to J Roy, FOUR! Good batting! Roy walks down the track and Hazlewood bowls a Test match length into what would have been an avenue of apprehension for a right-hander playing from his crease. But because the batsman is down the track and across the stumps, he can easily flick it past short fine leg and get a boundary. 22/0
3.1 J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, On a length around off, coming in, extra bounce, Bairstow adjusts well and tucks it towards square leg for a single. 18/0
2.6 M Starc to J Roy, A short ball outside off, pretty quick, 145.4 kph, JR looks to hook but misses. Starc appeals for a catch but no one supports him. Nothing in it. 17/0
2.5 M Starc to J Roy, Full and wide outside off, there to be driven, Jason accepts the invitation and drives but mid off is placed a bit wide and the ball goes straight to him. 17/0
2.4 M Starc to J Roy, FOUR! Excellent timing and the outfield is very generous. Starc drops it a bit shorter than full and Roy just tucks it through mid-wicket. Square leg starts to chase but only finishes second in the race. 17/0
2.3 M Starc to J Roy, Very full outside off, squeezed straight to cover. 13/0
2.3 M Starc to J Roy, WIDE. A late call from the umpire and Starc is not amused. A short ball, around leg and outside, Roy swivels to pull but misses. That ball goes past him, outside leg and the umpire, after a long thought, stretches his arms. On closer look, it does seem like the ball flicked Roy's shirt but nothing conclusive. 13/0
2.2 M Starc to J Bairstow, The batsman works it down the leg side. One run added to the total. 12/0
2.1 M Starc to J Bairstow, A length ball, a bit too straight, Bairstow clips it towards short mid-wicket who dives to his left and parries it to mid on. 11/0
1.6 J Hazlewood to J Roy, Around off, defended watchfully. 11/0
1.5 J Hazlewood to J Roy, Full and outside off, hint of inswing, Jason looks to flick but gets a bit of an inside edge through mid-wicket. 11/0
Change in the field straightaway. Aaron Finch from second slip is moved to short extra cover.
1.4 J Hazlewood to J Roy, FOUR! Beautiful timing. Not a bad delivery, on a length, just outside off, but Roy is equal to it. Punches the ball on the up through the covers, finds the gap and then the boundary. 11/0
1.3 J Hazlewood to J Roy, On a length outside off, punched back to the bowler. 7/0
1.2 J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, The batsman works it down the leg side for a run. 7/0
1.1 J Hazlewood to J Roy, Outside off, punched off the back foot wide of mid on for a single. Both openers are off the mark now. 6/0
Josh Hazlewood to bowl with the second new ball.
0.6 M Starc to J Bairstow, On a length around middle, swinging in, Bairstow misses his flick and is hit on the pads. Starc and the slip cordon appeal but the umpire shakes his head. Oh hello... Hawk Eye shows that it would have clipped the top of leg stump. Was not a bad appeal in the end. An indifferent over from Starc. The King of swing was searching for his subject and was not in control at all. 5/0
0.5 M Starc to J Bairstow, Excellent delivery. A surprise bouncer, JB picks it pretty late and sways away at the last moment. 5/0
0.4 M Starc to J Bairstow, On middle, pushed straight to short mid-wicket. 5/0
0.3 M Starc to J Bairstow, Another one on the pads, swinging down, Jonny misses his flick and is hit. 5/0
0.2 M Starc to J Bairstow, Full and wide outside off, driven through point for a couple. Gets off the mark. 5/0
0.1 M Starc to J Bairstow, Better line, just around off, fuller in length, pushed towards cover. 3/0
0.1 M Starc to J Bairstow, ANOTHER WIDE. Plenty of swing on offer, Starc is unable to control it though. Another one down the leg side, this time Bairstow misses his flick. Paine collects with a dive to his left. 3/0
0.1 M Starc to J Roy, WIDE. An extra to start. Starc looks for a repeat of his dismissal of Roy in the previous game, a full ball on the pads, but on this occasion, he slips this a bit too much down the leg side and Roy misses his flick. Tim Paine fumbles behind and concedes a run. 2/0