And as the Lahore groundstaff water the pitch in their purple uniforms, we’ll take our leave after a wonderful game.
It was a fantastic win for this unfamiliar Australia, and a huge confidence boost to chase down 350 with overs in their pocket.
For England, who must now must beat Afghanistan and South Africa, it was another disappointing result - but one that doesn’t tell the whole story. Duckett’s magnificat 165 led the way, Root batted with typical poise, and Archer snaffled useful runs at the end. England’s spinners kept things tight and, if Carse had an off day, a catch that wasn’t in the deep by Archer could have made the difference.
Here’s Ali Martin’s match report. Thanks for your company, we’ll be back in the morning for the fireworks that are India v Pakistan. Good night!
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Ben Duckett
“Feel pretty flat right now. Obviously happy to have scored runs but never the same in a losing cause.
“I think chasing down 350, got to give them credit. Felt like we were one-two wickets away from winning pretty easily, felt like we maybe cut (?) a little too much with the ball, we needed to keep two stumps in play.
“You only have to walk over the field now to feel the change [in conditions]. Getting 350 and getting Head and Smith in the power play we were pretty happy.
“I was really excited when I was told by Baz I was going to open in this format, I want to score big hundreds and be that guy who wins us games. Obviously delighted with the way I’m hitting the ball at the moment
“Facing spin is a lot easier when you’re 40 not out, I probably wouldn’t have run down and hit those first two off MAxwell if I’d been on four. Today I certainly wasn’t fluent at the top.”
“We’re in the competition and we’ve lost the first game against Australia, we’re all hurting but the beauty of this format and we’ll wake up tomorrow and be ready for Afghanistan.”
Steve Smith
“I think regardless of what team we had, we would have bowled first. The conditions certainly changed, slowed up in the first innings as the game went on and we thought 350 was chaseable, for a while looked like they were going to get 400 – the boys didi a really good job, took the pace off at the right time, hit a hard length, Marnus bowled nicely at the end.
“The two keepers have been batting beautifuly for a while now, Josh looked like he didn’t get out of second gear to be honest, his first one day hundred was an amazing effort.”
Has he still got his English passport? “You’ll have to ask him! But he’s not going anywhere.”
Jos Buttler
“It was a fantastic game, put on a really good score. A fantastic innings by Josh Inglis. 350 is a pretty good score, always the worry if the dew does come in, but regardless of conditions to chase down 350 is amazing. Ben Duckett played brilliantly, we’ve been wanting players in our side to make good contributions, delighted for him and way he played - just a shame in a losing cause.”
“Credit to Australia, trying to find ways of breaking that partership but we couldn’t do it. Have confidence can get through the group stages, if we can continue to put 350 on the board we won’t lose too many times.”
Matthew Hayden, Nasser Hussain and Ian Ward, in jackets of varying looseness, chew the fat.
“Usually you panic a little bit, do too much, too early, but they didn’t, they were up with the race, an incredible run chase,” says Nasser.
The dew, they all agree, was a factor. But are bowled over by Inglis. “To have the bottle to remain in the game for such a long time, incredible,” says Hayden.
The balance of the side was a gamble on this surface – by both teams. But you cannot afford one person to get injured and one person to have a bad day, which England did.
Player of the match - Josh Inglis
“I’m over the moon. A great win, always hard coming up against England and everything has to go right chasing 350. We’d done a lot of talking before the game, we knew it would be better for us batting second with the dew.
“Alex doesn’t really saying anything when he bats, I just cracked on with it, tried not to look at the scoreboard too much. With Maxy in the sheds, didn’t want to give him too much time to bat. I still think their part time options are pretty handy so can’t not respect their bowling. I was just trying to tick over with the spin and be really proactive and we knew at the back end with the dew that it would tick over nicely.”
Australia beat England by five wickets!
47.3 overs: Australia 356-5 (Inglis 120, Maxwell 32) With 15 balls to spare, a thumping win, as Inglis flicks Wood effortlessly off his toes and Livingstone tips him over the rope to seal the six. A brilliant run chase by a second string Australian side. Boom!
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47th over: Australia 348-5 (Inglis 113, Maxwell 31) Australia need 4 from 18 balls Inglis pans Archer for SIX to bring up the fifty partnership, Maxwell pours salt in the wound with a back foot, button-busting four. Maxwell then cloths a high full toss and is caught by Livingstone at deep midwicket – but it is too high and he gains a free hit. Delays for the third umpire, delays while they work out who should be on strike. The free hit goes for SIX down the ground. Archer 10-0-82-1. This will be the highest run chase in ICC tournament history.
46th over: Australia 329-5 (Inglis 106, Maxwell 20) Australia need 23 from 24 balls Mark Wood swaps ends, and Maxwell sprays his first ball with wide legs and wanton bat for four through mid-off. The next is a well-directed bouncer which Maxwell ducks in ungainly manner. Then a another short one hooked for SIX over fine leg. A quick hand by Jofra at deep third denies Maxwell another boundary. Two dots to finish – but too late.
“Hello Tanya.” Hello Krishnamorthy V
“With Maxwell there it is already game over. Ask Afghanistan.” You speak the truth.
100 for Josh Inglis!
45th over: Australia 318-5 (Inglis 106, Maxwell 9) Australia need 34 from 30 balls A slower ball from Archer, and Inglis reaches his hundred, his first in ODIS, with SIX pulled high, so high, so cleanly. Eases off his helmet and salutes the happy, noisy crowd, hair and moustache wet with sweat. His teammates rise to salute him in the dugout – what a belting innings!
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44th over: Australia 308-5 (Inglis 97, Maxwell 8) Australia need 44 from 36 balls Australia have only successfully chased more than 350 once in ODIs – and that was against India. Carse, wicket-maker, keeps Inglis quiet for the first three balls, but then he frees his arms and launches SIX over backward square before scooping him, with gentle kid-gloves, for another.
43rd over: Australia 295-5 (Inglis 84, Maxwell 8) Australia need 57 from 42 balls Maxwell doesn’t fall for the full ball double bluff and bludgeons Wood over mid-off, then mid-on for four.
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42nd over: Australia 282- 5 (Inglis 79, Maxwell 0) Australia need 70 from 48 Early in the over Carey takes two fours off Carse, who at last gets his cheese as Buttler takes the catch. To Maxwell, England will pepper them short.
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WICKET! Carey c Buttler b Carse 69 (Australia 282-5)
Something for Carse at last! Carey, with a flick of the wrist, tries to open the face and is swallowed at mid-off.
41st over: Australia 272- 4 (Inglis 78, Carey 53) Australia need 80 from 54 Carey makes space and belts Livingstone down the ground for four. Carey then gets through Buttler at extra cover, who wrings his hands in pain after a semi-stop.
Hello again Alistair Connor. “Wales 18-27 Ireland. Oh well. Nobody expects the underdog to win.And barring a cluster of wickets eh?”
I’m conflicted – I don’t think this will be easy if the in men get out.
40th over: Australia 265- 4 (Inglis 78, Carey 53) Rashid’s last over. Nasser spots Carey rehearsing the slog-sweep. Carse dries the ball on his shirt – I imagine polyester isn’t a great absorbent. Rashid is done: 10 overs, one for 47.
39th over: Australia 261-4 (Inglis 76, Carey 51) Archer must bowl immediately after that drop – he gets a consoling pat on the back from Brook and Buttler. Alas, pats are not a salve, as Inglis reverse-scoops him for four, then kisses him off the hips for another. Win predictor now puts Australia ahead, with 91 needed off 66 balls.
Fifty for Alex Carey!
38th over: Australia 250-4 (Inglis 67, Carey 51) Pressure building again, this time the Archer-Rashid combination. Who will break first? Carey and Inglis well disciplined pupils in this Rashid’s ninth over – but what is this?! From nowhere, Carey takes aim but Archer drops a sitter in the deep, falling to the ground afterwards with his head in his hands.
Hello John Starbuck! “As England’s next match is against Afghanistan, it might be best to keep Brook in the side to help him regain confidence. If that doesn’t work, he should be dropped for the next game in favour of Overton. Since both Wood and Archer are prone to injury, that would be some insurance, and relieve the pressure on Root and Livingstone. Mind you, if England do win this one, they’d be likely to favour the status quo anyway.” I imagine they will have to rest Wood and Archer at some point in the group stages?
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37th over: Australia 244-4 (Inglis 66, Carey 46) Archer’s seventh over, as the plentiful and high-energy crowd chew over the manifold possibilities. Win predictor flashes up 56 per cent to England as Inglis tries to scoop without success, Archer runs his thumb across his fingers like a man counting bank notes. Tidy from Archer, just three from it.
36th over: Australia 241-4 (Inglis 65, Carey 44) Rashid, for the breakthrough. A single, then a lucky escape for Inglis who gets an inside edge past the stumps, past Smith and nearly past the footwork of Duckett on the rope. It brings up the hundred partnership from 79 balls. Seven from the over, as Carse lets one pass through his fingers uncharacteristically in the deep.
35th over: Australia 234-4 (Inglis 61 Carey 41) Archer returns. Starts with a slow leg cutter, which beats a swinging Inglis. But Inglis is ready for the next one and yahoos him legside. Beaten by the next but the fifth ball is invitingly short and attractively wide and Inglis stretches and flays him for four.
34th over: Australia 226-4 (Inglis 53, Carey 41) With England needing to break this partnership, Rashid is called back into the action. He has four overs left. Australia tap him for five singles, Carey is beaten by the sixth, a googly.
Fifty for Josh Inglis!
33rd over: Australia 221-4 (Inglis 50, Carey 39) It turns out that they just took drinks, though at a distance from the cameras so I can’t tell you how exhausted Inglis and Carey looked, or whether Buttler had a furrowed brow. Wood again – with the yo-yoing Archer now back ON the field. Australia’s current run rate is 6.6, they need 7.8. A single, a wide, a dot and four played with soft late quick hands, down to the deep third rope. A great bit of fielding by a diving Carse stops the same shot having the same outcome next ball.
Wood, who has fallen over frequently, calls for sawdust, which is applied liberally around the crease by a man with a bucket.
31st over: Australia 212-4 (Inglis 43, Carey 38) Archer is off again, takes a seat in the dug-out, Overton his replacement. Carse returns for a second spell, his first was a little loose. And this over doesn’t go too well either, two fours from it – as Carey off-drives him neatly and pulls him with aplomb.
31st over: Australia 203-4 (Inglis 43, Carey 29) Wood, who is breathing hard, continues. Archer, incidentally, is back on the field. A smart bit of fielding by a diving Duckett but Inglis brings up the 200 with a wristy flick off his boot laces for four. And lo, the cameras have spotted dew.
30th over: Australia 197-4 (Inglis 39, Carey 28) Inglis drives Root through the covers for four, these two easing into gear. The equation with 30 overs gone now 155 from 120 balls.
29th over: Australia 190-4 (Inglis 34, Carey 26) Wood is back – while Archer has gone off the field. Four dots, but Carey finally gets some welly to the final ball and flambes him through backward point.
28th over: Australia 184-4 (Inglis 34, Carey 20) Root again. England speeding through their spin allocation here. Australia pick up eight from the over, while over on the boundary Jofra Archer is treated for cramp to the tune of We will rock you.
“England in front... by a Short Head?” asks Alistair Connor. “Adil and the spinners are keeping a lid on things. And with Wales unexpectedly ahead of Ireland at half time, I’m having a fine afternoon. Go the underdogs!”
27th over: Australia 176-4 (Inglis 30, Carey 16) Inglis dances down the pitch to Livingstone, crouching stance, huge stride, level head, and lofts him for six. The fifth ball flies straight through Inglis, goes inside the bat and past the motionless Smith for four byes. Livi puts his hands to his face and falls to the ground with a grin.
26th over: Australia 161-4 (Inglis 19, Carey 16) Australia dib and dab at Root but really they need more off the filler bowlers.
25th over: Australia 156-4 (Inglis 16, Carey 14) Carey brings up the 150 with four forced high over the head of the leaping Carse at mid-off., and a second, driving Livingstone doggedly through extra cover.
Jeremy Boyce is back! “..as I was saying, catches win matches. 4 big guns showered and shaved, all out to catches.” Yes, England have been pretty sharp today, apart from that difficult c and b by Rashid.
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24th over: Australia 146-4 (Inglis 16, Carey 4) Joe Root it is, whose anti-ageing treatments I’d be quite glad to get my hands on. Some super team fielding in the deep as Salt slides and as he slips throws the ball to Carse . Just one boundary from spin so far this innings.
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23rd over: Australia 140-4 (Inglis 11, Carey 3) Now I’ve seen the replay, can confirm that Livingstone takes the ball low front of him as he drops to the left. Australia now need 212 from 27, with four of their big guns already showered and shaved.
WICKET! Short c and b Livingstone 63 (Australia 136-4)
This time Livingstone makes no mistake with the caught and bowled, dropping low to his right and taking with both hands. England chipping through this Australian line-up and Short was the man with his eye in.
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22nd over: Australia 136-3 (Short 63, Inglis 10) Rashid, the little master, whirling arms and untucked shirt. Foxes Inglis with the wrong’un but Smith advises, rightly, no review.
21st over: Australia 135-3 (Short 63, Inglis 10) I’m afraid I can’t describe this as I sat on the zapper.
20th over: Australia 129-3 (Short 60, Inglis 7) Brilliant from Rashid, who tempted Labuschagne with a slow one. Inglis nicely off the mark with a authoritative back-foot drive.
WICKET! Labuschagne c Buttler b Rashid 47 (England 122-3)
The pressure does it! Rashid throws a jewel into the air and Labuschagne drives but only to extra cover where Buttler lurks and takes with both hands.
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19th over: Australia 122-2 (Short 60, Labuschagne 47) Tight from Livingstone too, just four from it. The commentators discuss the dew – once it arrives, they say, there won’t be much spin.
18th over: Australia 118-2 (Short 57, Labuschagne 42) Just four off Rashid’s fourth. Win predictor currently gives England a generous 69 per cent chance of victory.
17th over: Australia 114-2 (Short 57, Labuschagne 42) Buttler turns to Livingstone who, in my head at least, is a partnership breaker. And he nearly does it here in his first over – as Short pounds his last ball straight down the pitch but Livi doesn’t react to the ball flying past at hand height. Livingstone and Root must together form England’s fifth bowler.
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16th over: Australia 109-2 (Short 54, Labuschagne 40) No boundaries off Rashid’s over, but Australia still dart and dab him for six runs. Labuschagne quietly accumulating here.
Fifty for Matt Short!
15th over: Australia 103-2 (Short 52, Labuschagne 36) A glorious drive through extra-cover takes Short to within touching distance of a half century – but then there’s a noise as ball passes bat. A wide is called. Smith raises the question after collecting in his gloves, Buttler agrees and they review – but it was ball brushing bat that caused the murmur. The wide is overturned though. A second four from the over, as Short tickles a Carse gimme legside to reach his second ODI fifty and they take DRINKS! Nicely done by Short, who has ridden the early loss of Head and Smith.
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14th over: Australia 94-2 (Short 43, Labuschagne 36) Rashid turns the screw with a bag full of looping, dancing delight.
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13th over: Australia 92-2 (Short 42, Labuschagne 35) Carse crouches – it’s a long way down – and does up his boot laces with tattooed arm. Just one off the first three balls but then the first SIX of the innings, as Short pulls with super quick arms and a frisky flourish high into the night sky. Australia are just about tracking England’s first innings.
12th over: Australia 85-2 (Short 36, Labuschagne 34) The crowd sound to be in a state of high excitement. Dancing and delight. Buttler plays his trump card, Rashid, who ‘drops’ a VERY difficult caught and bowled against Short (33) first ball. Stops the boundary though. Six singles from the over.
11th over: Australia 79-2 (Short 33, Labuschagne 31) Better from Archer, Australia can’t get him away. Labuschagne chews, chews, chews his gum, and sways out of the way of a bouncer.
” Catches win matches, don’t they ?” taps Jeremy Boyce. “ Ironically in view of Smith’s comments about the joy of a good clementine catch, he and other danger man Head have both gone to (surprise) catches. Are the planets aligning just at the right moment ?”
As a Pisces…
10th over: Australia 76-2 (Short 31, Labuschagne 30) An expensive over from Carse as Labuschange gets lucky with an inside edge for four but can legitimately polish his bat after another through midwicket and a frisky pull off the front foot.
9th over: Australia 62-2 (Short 31, Labuschagne 16) Archer has a change of ends, and Australia can only pick him for a handful of runs. Like England, Australia come into this tournament on the back of defeat, theirs a pummelling by Sri Lanka.
8th over: Australia 57-2 (Short 30, Labuschagne 12) Big Brydon Carse replaces Archer (3-0-25-1). His first ball is full but says hit me, which Labuschagne duly does, four to settle the nerves. Carse surprises Short with a sharp bouncer to close the over, a bit of physical pain to add to the addrenaline.
7th over: Australia 50-2 (Short 30, Labuschagne 5) The crowd are twitchy, they want boundaries, or wickets, or both. They roar Wood into his high-speed approach, and roar as Short lofts him for four, with the whisk of a flamboyant maker of meringues.
“It seems the pitch is getting slower and there’s a risk of dew. How much is that going to hamper the quicks and Raschid?”
Well, John Starbuck, the commentators seem to think that Wood will bowl as many overs as possible before the dew sets in.
6th over: Australia 43-2 (Short 24, Labuschagne 4) Archer, trouser hems just above his ankles, face shiny with sweat, runs in. Short has his eye in though and clubs three boundaries, one mown through the covers, one through deep midwicket and one just beating a diving Rashid.
5th over: Australia 31-2 (Short 12, Labuschagne 4) England’s fast men doing exactly what the captain is after, every ball of Wood’s over more than 150kph. The last four balls pretty much unplayable. Labuschagne, out of sorts of late, collects four first ball with a sensible send through deep third to the rope.
WICKET! Smith c Duckett b Wood 5 (Australia 27-2)
Smith squares up and with crooked stance tries to spray Wood but only gifts a lurking Duckett at slip.
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4th over: Australia 27-1 (Short 12, Head 5) The wicket England were desperate for! Replays shows Head toe ending that catch, the ball shaping away. Smith is welcomed – and beaten - with a zinger, though cuts a short wide one square for four to get off the mark. Pulls away from the last ball
WICKET! Head c and b Archer 6 (Australia 21-1)
Big beast cornered! Head can’t fathom it, but he’s been caught and bowled by the fast reflexes of Archer who collects with both hands in his follow through and seems to bruise a finger in the process.
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3rd over: Australia 21-0 (Short 12, Head 6) Wood on the money this over, three darting dots enough to have Short swinging and missing at the fourth. He finally worries the scoreboard with an angled punch that dances down to the rope.
2nd over: Australia 17-0 (Short 8, Head 6) Archer, he of the useful last overs runs, takes the new ball at the other end. He has Head grasping at a 91mph ball to start, but serves up a juicy pie a couple of balls later which Head takes full advantage of, cutting for four with a lick of the lips.
1st over: Australia 8-0 (Short 8, Head 0) Mark Wood has the new ball, Short takes his time wriggling into position. He’s something to prove here, averaging just 8.8 in his last five ODIs, but picks up half of that by clipping Wood down to the rope, and then flicks a rusty legside ball square for another four. Wood finishes the over on top, as Short plays and misses.
“Hallo Tanya, welcome to the helm.” Hello there Henry Lubienski. “ An authoritative post that England are 20-30 above par would go down extremely well with the more nervous of your readership. Are they? How do you read the wicket?”
I actually do think England will win this – subject to Travis Head being removed before the half way stage…
Joe Root says the wicket is “slow and low” but he’s happy with England’s 351. The players prowl on the boundary. England huddle, then Buttler, stretching, leads England on. Australia, in the guise of Travis Head and Matthew Short follow, rolling arms and shoulders. Here we go!
Thanks Jim, cracking stuff. So there we have it, England’s most convincing batting for a while and their highest Champions Trophy total – spearheaded by Ben Duckett’s rich Tiramisu of an innings – the fifth highest ODI score by an Englishman. In Lahore, the sky has faded from blue to purple and Australia’s XI of old guard, off-cuts and substitutes prepare to show what they can do.
Australia fielded superbly and probably shaved 20 runs off England’s total whilst also pulling off some fine catches, Alex Carey chalking up two spectacular grabs to see the back of Phil Salt and Harry Brook. Gloves? Who needs ‘em. All eyes on Travis Head for the chase… Tanya Aldred is here to guide you through the Aussie effort with the bat. Thanks for your company, goodbye!
England’s total is the highest in Champions Trophy history. Credit to Ben Duckett who played a fantastic innings over the course of 47 overs to makes sure England maximised a fine batting track and set Australia a challenging total. He seemed to find the boundary exactly when his side needed one and showed nous and restraint in compiling his innings – 165 off 143 balls has given England a real chance to turn their white ball fortunes around – as the man himself has intimated - when it really matters.
England make 351-8
Australia will need to score 352 runs to beat their old enemy. An extremely useful cameo from Jofra Archer at the close as he clubbed Marnus down the ground for four and then swipes a huge SIX to send England into the break with their dander up.
WICKET! Carse c & b Labuschagne 8 (England 338-8)
Marnus is Australia’s new death bowler! He’s ding the business as Carse smears straight up in the air and Labuschagne completes a protracted caught and bowled. Three balls to go!
49th over: England 336-7 (Carse 6, Archer 9) Nathan Ellis returns for the penultimate over with his box of tricks. Slower balls, cutters and pace off bouncers the order of the day. Gah! A full toss at the last and Jofra doesn’t miss out – slapping back down the ground for four. That was a much needed boundary for England who pick up another much needed boundary off the final ball of an over.
48th over: England 325-7 (Carse 2, Archer 3) Jofra Archer joins Carse and the brief is clear with two overs to go. Get as many as you can!
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WICKET! Duckett lbw b Labuschagne 165 (England 322-7)
Steve Smith goes to Marnus again and his sidekick gets the big wicket of Duckett! A superb innings from the opener and he’s given England a real chance in this match. He was flagging and drew a blank whilst swiping across the line to a straight one. Marnus is absolutely cock-a-hoop as you’d expect.
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47th over: England 321-6 (Duckett 165, Carse 1) Duckett finds a third wind and slams a pull to the fence for four. Brydon Carse joins him in the middle. Three left for England to max out.
WICKET! Livingstone c Ellis b Dwarshuis 14 (England 316-6)
Livingstone is caught on the fence! Back of a length and angling in with pace off, Dwarshuis has his third wicket. England still need more…
46th over: England 311-5 (Duckett 156, Livingstone 14) Zampa retuns fior his last over, Duckett belts his first ball away for four but Zampa draws on all his wiles and gets out for the over for eight runs, not a disaster and he finishes with 2-64 off his ten over stint.
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45th over: England 303-5 (Duckett 150, Livingstone 13) Duckett goes to 150 off 134 balls, a back cut is fumbled by Travis Head at backward point. He’s probably thinking about his batting. Gulp. Duckett looks well and truly cooked, it wouldn’t be terrible for England if he got out now with five overs to go and every run crucial. Livingstone is given out LBW on the field but the DRS shows he got a scratch on it with his bat. That’s a big moment too, Livingstone is the man England want in the middle with five overs left and free reign to swing.
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44th over: England 299-5 (Duckett 148, Livingstone 12) Marnus is given the nod once more as Steve Smith gambles… SIX! Livingstone marmalises a full bunger into the stands. Hmmm. That wasn’t the brief, Marn. He does well enough to get out of the over for just four more singles. Ten off the over though and England on the verge of three hundred.
43rd over: England 289-5 (Duckett 146, Livingstone 4) Nathan Ellis into the attack. He pulls his length back and mixes up his speed well, just four runs off the over.
42nd over: England 285-5 (Duckett 144, Livingstone 2) Marnus Labuschagne sneaks an over in for the cost of just five runs, good captaincy from Steve Smith who can now rely on his front line bowlers heading into the climax of the innings.
41st over: England 280-5 (Duckett 141, Livingstone 0) Liam Livingstone arrives in the middle. He needs to clear the fence and take the bulk of the strike as Duckett is blowing a bit. England still simmering but they need to get up to 350 on this wicket.
WICKET! Buttler c Ellis b Maxwell 23 (England 280-5)
GONE! Buttler pounds the turf in frustration as a hoick into the leg side is well caught by Ellis in the deep, a sharp grab by his ankles as Australia’s impressive effort in the field continues. Big, biiiiiig wicket. The bat turned in Buttler’s hand when he made contact with the ball, meaning he mis-timed the stroke and it found the fielder.
Buttler takes Maxwell over midwicket for SIX and follows up with a pull for four, but the bowler has the last laugh…
40th over: England 268-4 (Duckett 140, Buttler 12) Dwarshuis into his ninth over, he’s taking all the pace off the ball and making the batters do the work. Duckett has started to look a bit tired in the last over or so. Buttler wants to scamper a couple but his partner politely declines. No need to run for that though! Duckett climbs into a cut shot and the ball traces away across the baize for four.
We’re into the last ten overs, Australia are allowed one more fielder out in the deep. Jos Buttler has bided his time, he could be about to tee off.
39th over: England 258-4 (Duckett 134, Buttler 8) Maxwell replaces Zampa, Buttler picks up a single into the off side to get Duckett on strike. SIX! Clubbed down the ground by Duckett and he holds the pose for good measure. Ten off the over as England pick up the pace heading into the last ten.
38th over: England 248-4 (Duckett 125, Buttler 7) Dwarshuis continues, three singles off the over until the last ball when four leg byes give England a pep in their step. Australia guilty of gifting a few of those down in this innings. Buttler has had a quiet start to his innings so far. No I/m not trying to tempt fate, promise.
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37th over: England 241-4 (Duckett 124, Buttler 5) Shot! Duckett reverse sweeps over point for four and then capitalises on a front foot no ball from Zampa - the full toss free hit is dispatched down the ground for SIX! A costly mistake and 13 runs off Zampa’s over to blot his copy book with one over left on his account.
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36th over: England 228-4 (Duckett 113, Buttler 4) Dwarshuis has 2-43 from his seven, Australia squeeze a little harder with just four runs off it.
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35th over: England 224-4 (Duckett 111, Buttler 2) Can Australia put the squeeze on here? Zampa has 2-43 off his eight overs and I suspect Steve Smith will bowl him out. Buttler is off the mark with a meaty biff down the ground but Duckett is nearly picked up off the final ball as Zampa puts some extra juice on one. A gnat’s eyebrow away from the edge.
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WICKET! Brook c Carey b Zampa 3 (England 219-4)
Another brilliant catch by Alex Carey running back and taking it over his shoulder at point. He’s got velcro hands without the gloves on. Harry Brook is on his way and here comes Jos Buttler in his new lower middle order role.
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34th over: England 219-3 (Duckett 108, Brook 3) Brook flicks off his pads and works into the off for two singles. Duckett swats to square leg but doesn’t beat the man on the fence so it’s just three off the over.
33rd over: England 216-3 (Duckett 107, Brook 1) Zampa has his dander up after the wicket of Root. Just two singles off his first five balls… shot! Duckett drops and deploys the reverse-sweep into the gap for four.
A hundred for Ben Duckett!
That’s a brilliant knock from the opener. He’s copped some flak for some clunky quotes recently but with a bat in his hand he’s much more fluent. He plays a forehand smash down the ground like a pint sized Sampras and then goes to three figures with a repeat of the shot for four more! 102 off 96 balls. Time for a drink with plenty of action to come in the next 18 overs.
32nd over: England 210-3 (Duckett 102, Brook 0)
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31st over: England 201-3 (Duckett 93, Brook 0) Harry Brook arrives in the middle on his birthday. Oh to be 26 and full of talent. How crucial will the wicket prove?
WICKET! Root lbw b Zampa 68 (England 201-3)
Adam Zampa gets the breakthrough! Root tries to sweep a ball that is a smidge too full and it hits him on the ankle in front of leg stump. The umpire raises the finger and there is a torturous wait whilst the ball tracking loads… GONE! Umpires’s call as it was clipping leg stump. Root doesn’t like it but has to go.
30th over: England 200-2 (Duckett 92, Root 68) Johnson spears a short ball in from around the wicket and Root is on it in a flash, pulling away in style for four. I think England are going to go for their shots now, buckle up! Johnson oversteps the front line and Root has a giant moose at the free hit but doesn’t time it, nevertheless England pick up nine runs off the over with a minimum of risk or fuss and that’s the two hundred up.
29th over: England 191-2 (Duckett 91, Root 61) Zampa returns with six overs up his sleeve. Hello Gruesome! Duckett greets him with a spank down the ground for four! Have England pressed the button? Eight runs off the over.
28th over: England 183-2 (Duckett 84, Root 60) Nathan Ellis has been impressive today, he goes for just four more singles off his sixth over, he’s only gone for 29 so far.
27th over: England 179-2 (Duckett 82, Root 58) Maxwell spears in five balls for the cost of four singles before Duckett pounces on a short ball and flays through the off-side for four. Aaron Finch thinks that England will be eyeing 360 from here, double their score now. Root and Duckett are very well set but we all know what can happen with a couple of quick wickets. England splutter to 280 and end up pounded by Travis Head. I’m just typing what you are thinking, right?
26th over: England 171-2 (Duckett 76, Root 56) Five singles picked off Nathan Ellis. Who is going to blink first in Lahore?
25th over: England 166-2 (Duckett 73, Root 54) Marnus comes into the attack with some of his quick leggies. A decent start from him as he lands them all and plenty of the usual gum chewin’ bluster. England manage to work for seven runs. Interesting debate on the Sky coverage, Nasser Hussain wants to see this pair go on and make a hundred each but also not leave it all too late to press the accelerator. “They’ve been talented but not ruthless in all forms of the game” he says of recent England sides.
24th over: England 159-2 (Duckett 68, Root 52) Maxwell gets in and out of the over for the cost of just five runs. Both sides content at the moment with the halfway mark approaching. England aren’t getting away from Australia but they are steadily compiling and have a decent engine room ready and waiting.
23rd over: England 154-2 (Duckett 65, Root 50) Dwarshuis returns and England pick him off for four singles, Joe Root quietly notches his 57th ODI fifty.
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22nd over: England 150-2 (Duckett 63, Root 48) Root unfurls an imperious drive for four. England ticking along.
Ali messages from Lahore. “Duckett’s first sweep on 58* ... must be some kind of personal record. Bloke’s got 10 different ones, both sides of the wicket”
The stattos have waded in to say that it is in fact Duckett’s second ODI half century without deploying any kind of sweep shot. We might start to see a few more know he is well set, he’ll be very aware of the criticism England’s batters have faced recently about batters not capitalising on strong starts. Nasser Hussain reckons England need at least 350 on this wicket… At the moment England are keeping wickets in hand for an assault later on. Old School.
21st over: England 143-2 (Duckett 62, Root 42) Duckett drives Zampa for four and follows up with a nicely timed paddle sweep for four more! That’s the hundred partnership up for this pair.
“Morning, checking the score on cricinfo, (pfffft we’ll forgive you just this once Tom vDG) someone had asked what happened to Malan. It would be interesting to see how strong a team you could assemble for England picking players whose face never quite fit.
Malan, Vince, Dawson etc...”
Seems like quite a good bit of OBO discussion to have whilst the game ticks into the middle overs. For some reason I keep thinking of Mark Ealham. As per.
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20th over: England 132-2 (Duckett 52, Root 41) The left-handed Johnson chops and changes from around and over the wicket to Joe Root who manages to fiddle a single down to third and pinch the strike off his partner for the next over. Just three runs off it, the game has entered a holding phase, something’s gotta give…
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19th over: England 129-2 (Duckett 51, Root 39) Zampa rattles off another frugal over, just three single off it. Duckett is itching to smear him away to the fence and throws the kitchen sink and range cooker at a googly but fails to connect.
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18th over: England 126-2 (Duckett 50, Root 37) Streaky! Root under edges Johnson past Inglis for four and Duckett goes to his 50 (off 49 balls) with a punishing flay into the off side.
17th over: England 116-2 (Duckett 45, Root 32) Zampa to Root after a slurp of luminous liquid in Lahore and a Yorkshire Golde here in the UK. This is a good duel, Zampa comes out on top in this over with just three singles eked off it.
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16th over: England 113-2 (Duckett 43, Root 31) England keep ticking, five runs off Maxwell’s latest and time for a drink. Honours about even at this stage.
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15th over: England 108-2 (Duckett 40, Root 29) A buzz cut sporting Adam Zampa is into the attack. He surprises himself and Joe Root with a full toss at waist height, Root missing out and plinking into the leg side. Zampa has a fine record against England in white ball cricket and Root and Duckett are England’s best players of the spinning ball.
14th over: England 102-2 (Duckett 36, Root 27) Five singles off Maxwell sees the fifty partnership come up between Root and Duckett. SHOT! Duckett then has enough of nudging and decides to open his shoulders properly for the first time! A well executed lofted drive down the ground clears the boundary – SIXAH! It’s a good contest this, both sides sizing each other up.
13th over: England 91-2 (Duckett 28, Root 24) A quieter over from Ellis, just a wide and three singles off it. England have been bowled out in so many of their recent ODIs, they seem to have dialled back the aggression just a little in Lahore, Duckett and Root content to notch the singles.
12th over: England 87-2 (Duckett 27, Root 22) Time for some spin. Glenn Maxwell is on for a twirl in his first international on Pakistani soil. He’ll be looking to rattle through his overs and sneak a few past England. Three singles off the over until the last ball that Duckett advances to and lofts for four. He didn’t middle it but got enough. Seven off the over.
11th over: England 80-2 (Duckett 22, Root 20) Root shows his class with a purrrfect clip off his pads through midwicket for four. The outfield is rapid, anything that gets through the in-field is going for four.
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10th over: England 73-2 (Duckett 21, Root 14) Duckett has been quiet so far today, perhaps that leg injury is hampering him a little still. He doesn’t miss out on a Dwarshuis long hop though and clubs it through point for four.
9th over: England 64-2 (Duckett 15, Root 12) A quiet over by Nathan Ellis, Root and Duckett rotate strike to pocket four runs off it.
8th over: England 60-2 (Duckett 14, Root 9) Dwarshuis continues, Root flicks him for a couple of twos and then looks to have driven with Princely elan down the ground only for Marnus to launch himself across the turf and stop the certain boundary. Top fielding, Australia have been ‘on it’ so far in the field.
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7th over: England 55-2 (Duckett 14, Root 4) Nathan Ellis comes into the attack and he goes to his variations right away. Duckett flicks him away fine for four but is then scythed in half by a cutter, the ball jags more than any we’ve seen so far today, so much so that it evades Inglis behind the stumps and runs away for four more.
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WICKET! Smith c Carey b Dwarshuis 15 (England 43-2)
Gone! Jamie Smith turns on his heels in disgust as he plinks a drive to that man Alex Carey at mid-on. A dolly this time for Carey who makes no mistake. Smith is replaced by Joe Root, who Matty Hayden thinks should be batting at number three anyway. Say it how you see it Haydos. Root drives nicely down the ground to get off the mark with a scampered three runs.
6th over: England 46-2 (Duckett 10, Root 3)
Australia will be very happy with their start in Lahore.
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5th over: England 42-1 (Duckett 9, Smith 15) Spencer Johnson beats Jamie Smith with a ball that slides across at pace but then follows up with a poor ball on the pads that is flicked away fine for four. Close! Smith cloths a drive that just evades a back pedalling Alec Carey at mid-on, the ball winning out this time. Shot! Smith pongoes a drive through cover for four to end the over.
4th over: England 32-1 (Duckett 9, Smith 5) Duckett pings a four off his pads to keep England ticking. Dwarshuis looks a bit nervy and flings five wides down the leg side. Another wide follows a few balls later to make it twelve runs off the over.
John Starbuck thinks England are light on bowling…
“Jim, while acknowledging that they do take a few wickets now and then, Root and Livingstone are not front-line bowlers. England look a bit bat-heavy today, which just about doubles the importance of a huge score.”
“Not a bad grab that” Ian Sargeant is the king of understatement.
3rd over: England 20-1 (Duckett 4, Smith 4) I think that was Alex Carey’s first ever outfield catch in ODI cricket! He’s had the gloves for 143 of his 155 internationals matches. A real ‘hanger’ to get him off the mark, as I’ve learned they say of such grabs in Aussie parlance:
Catching is one of the great joys of the game, and – bear with me here – maybe of life itself? The act of plucking a travelling thing out of the air and cradling it safely in your hands taps into something deeply satisfying in the human condition. Cricketer or not, most of us can relate to the feeling in some way. Remember when you who held on to that clementine your sister-in-law flung at you with a bit too much venom last Christmas? God that felt good. “Can we just rock’n’roll that please, make sure no pith is in contact with the carpet fibres, looks clean to me, fingers clearly under it – you can stick with your original decision Grandma, put down the sherry, you’re on screen now.”
2nd over: England 17-1 (Duckett 1, Smith 4) The newly minted Jamie Smith is in early at number three and makes himself at home right away with a delicious drive through cover for four. Not a bad start to this game!
WICKET! Salt c Carey b Dwarshuis 10 (England 13-1)
Salt flicked into the midwicket region and looked like he had cleared the in-field, Carey ran a couple of steps and then launched into the air and plucked the ball in his right hand a full stretch. An absolute screamer!
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OH MY GOOD GOLLY WHAT A CATCH! Alex Carey has pulled off a blinder to get rid of Phil Salt!
1st over: England 12-0 (Salt 10, Duckett 0) Yep the wicket and outfield look like the sort a batter would drool over. England get twelve off the first over as Salt bunts down the ground for four and then flicks off his pads in real style for SIX! Flamboyant from the opener.
Righto, Spencer Johnson has the new ball for Australia and has some big size 12s to fill. Phil Salt will take the first ball and Ben Duckett is down the non-strikers. The pitch looks a belter. PLAY!
The players emerge for a burst of the anthems. The DJ at the ground was blasting some AC/DC earlier, clearly showing bias to the Antipodeans. My now nearly teenage nephew used to dance around his living room to AC/DC as a toddler, in the nud nud. Just posting that to embarrass him.
This was his pantless ‘jam’ if I recall:
Martin Pegan has penned this handy guide to the new faces in the Aussie set up:
Planning around Australia’s white-ball sides has been much more haphazard. Opportunities have been handed out to emerging talents and second-stringers while frontliners have been on personal or parental leave, injured, or simply rested with eyes on bigger, more lucrative prizes. In the past 18 months alone, Australia blooded enough ODI players to fill a full XI. The hope seemed to be that a handful of them would not only stick to the international white-ball squads, but eventually push their Test credentials too. The broad brush approach now looks like a masterstroke, after Australia’s initial Champions Trophy squad was decimated by a raft of withdrawals and injuries, leaving six of the debutants during that recent period to take the reins on a global stage.”
Guy Hornsby is our first caller!
“Morning Jimbo, morning everyone. I’m approaching today with trepidation and realism. India showed England are not really on it. We seem to be happy going into a tournament in Pakistan with only one front line spinner, pretty much an outlier. I feel for Rehan Ahmed in particular. Livingstone and Root have a lot riding on them. Our batting has been flaky, with only Duckett consistent. We need him, Root and Buttler to go well. Australia are missing their pace attack, but underestimating them never ends well. Basically I’m tired and I’m struggling to see how we don’t fall in a heap in the next two weeks. Convince me!”
Errr… get your eyeball around this and BELIEVE* Guy!
*This OBO is – of course – entirely impartial.
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And here’s one Ali prepared earlier on England’s headaches:
While Buttler likely needs positive results for his own job security, such thoughts – much like the Test team under Stokes and McCullum – are being parked. Ben Duckett caused a stir during the recent 3-0 defeat in India when he said he did not care about the whitewash if England went on to win the Champions Trophy; a statement that saw its qualifier widely ignored and annoyed a good deal of supporters in the process. For Buttler, having also defended his team’s work ethic in India, it was misunderstood. “Every single player who plays international sport, no matter what sport it is, I can guarantee would not have got there if they weren’t ultra-competitive and didn’t want to win,” said Buttler, clarifying his opener’s remarks.
What people must understand is that people saying you want to win doesn’t guarantee results.
You have to find ways to look after the things that you can control; to work out how to be really present at a tournament like the Champions Trophy. Getting close to what we’re capable of is the thing I want most out of us, and if we’re doing that then the results will come as well.”
Ali Martin is our man on the ground, he’s dipped his quill early and sent us this:
Greetings from Lahore, where the sun is shining and a humdinger awaits. First time at the Gaddafi Stadium for me and have to say, it’s a pretty cool ground. It also feels box fresh after a refurbishment that beat its deadline in a way that any written journalist would doff a cap too. Speaking of which, there’s no Aussie press pack on the ground in Pakistan, sadly, although we’ll no doubt catch up with a few at the World Test Championship final this summer. Talk of a decent crowd today and the queues outside were promising. See what happens, might look sparse on the TV at first - security is very tight outside - but should hopefully fill up later.”
Australia win the toss and will BOWL
The sun is beating down on the newly spruced Gaddafi stadium in Lahore and the captains are ready for the toss. The coin is flipped and Australia win it, Steve Smith is going to bowl first!
Jos Buttler says he probably would have done the same but was 50-50. There might be some dew around later.
Here are the teams, Steve Smith does well to reel off his XI when asked at the toss. We knew England’s already as they named it two days out. Jamie Smith batting at three and keeping is the big piece of news.
Australia Travis Head, Matt Short, Steve Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
England Ben Duckett, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (capt), Liam Livingstone, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
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Preamble
‘Listen, don’t mention the A’ word, I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it all right…’
Hello and welcome to Australia v England in the Champions Trophy. In all seriousness, these two white ball sides are a shadow of their Test teams and each will be looking to get over recent bruising encounters and start the tournament off with a victory. With three games in the group stages there’s only room for one slip up at the most.
Dear old England are on the back of a pummelling in India and there are questions and accusations swirling. A poor showing in this tournament would leave Jos Buttler extremely vulnerable in his position as captain and only serve to lump more pressure onto newly promoted white ball coach Brendon McCullum. Maybe there will be a sheen of sweat behind the shades today?
Australia are fifty over World Champions but are also coming off a 2-0 series defeat to Sri Lanka and have a depleted squad. This will be the first global tournament in over a decade that they don’t have at least one of Messrs Cummins, Hazelwood or Starc at their disposal. Then again, it’s Australia, they tend to be pretty decent at turning it on when it counts in the big ones.
Plenty to dig into then, the toss is about fifteen minutes away and play will begin at 9am GMT. If you are tuning in then do let us know by flinging us an email .
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