LONDON: It was the ‘hardest day’s cricket I have ever had in my life,’ said Tim Paine, the Australia captain, after his team conceded a one-day international record 481/6 to England and were then bowled out for 239 to go down by a whopping 242 runs.
According to ICC, it was the third ODI of the five-match series, which England have now snatched 3-0, and while Paine was hurting, Eoin Morgan, his England counterpart, was ‘extremely proud’ after the Trent Bridge blitz.
England now have the two top ODI team totals against their name – their 444/3 against Pakistan, also at Trent Bridge, is at No.2 – and they have both come in the last two years.
It’s exactly the sort of batting show that makes England the No.1 ODI team in the world and favourites to win the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time when it’s held in their country come 2019.
“Having been in the position that we found ourselves in today, with about six overs to go, we certainly never imagined after the game against Pakistan that we’d come close, past, and maybe stare down the barrel at scoring 500. So it’s a very proud day for us as a group, including the staff,” said Morgan, who contributed a 30-ball 67 to the England cause.
For England, the batting stars were Jason Roy (82), Jonny Bairstow (139) and Alex Hales (147), apart from Morgan, but the bowlers did exceedingly well to thwart any hopes Australia might have had. Moeen Ali (3/28) and Adil Rashid (4/47) were again England’s bowling stars.
“What’s most pleasing is the level of intensity that we operated at and kept continuing to operate at throughout the whole game. Every batter that came in, every bowler that came on, even though it was a really flat wicket, showed unbelievable attitude, which is all you can ask,” said Morgan.
Speaking specifically about England’s top-three batsmen, the captain added, “I suppose the pride which everybody takes in appearing in the XI, or even being in the squad, is huge. It is difficult to keep everybody satisfied. But we’ve said this for the last three years, that we want a squad of players so by the time the World Cup comes around, the in-form guys are the most likely to play.
“All three of those are putting themselves right at the top of the list at the moment.”
