When the euphoria dies down and everybody heads back to work and onto the diet after Christmas, you can be certain that somewhere, one-day cricket will be being played. But hey, there's a World Cup coming up (typically lasting from the middle of February to the beginning of April - I tip my hat to anybody who can stay interested for the entire 7 weeks) so at least there is some reason for England and Australia to be playing each other, unlike those pointless 5 matches we had over here last summer. I appreciate that the 1st ODI has already been played, but owing to my busy schedule, I haven't yet been able to catch up with the highlights of that one. Therefore this article features the warm-up match and the 2 T20 internationals, which conveniently enough finished 1-1, prompting the captains to claim that "no one side had any momentum going into the one-dayers" and the ICC to sweep under the carpet the fact that really it would have been more worthwhile to have a best-of-3. Or, even better, a one-off.
Tour match (Canberra) - England 225-3 (33.3 overs) (Bell 124* off 102) beat Prime Minister's XI 254-9 (43 overs) (Christian 53 off 53, Paine 50 off 59) by 7 wickets with 9 balls remaining (D/L method)
1st T20I (Adelaide) - England 158-9 (20 overs) (Pietersen 25 off 11: 3 x 4s, 1 x 6s; Watson 4-0-15-4) beat Australia 157-4 (20 overs) (Watson 59 off 31: 6 x 4s, 3 x 6s) by 1 wicket with 0 balls remaining. And it was every bit as exciting as the scoreline suggests. England set a world record, with 8 consecutive victories in the shortest format of the game but they really made heavy weather of what appeared a straightforward run chase. With Pietersen and Ian Bell having got off to flying starts and then got out, Eoin Morgan (43) was left to shepherd the lower order towards the target. But all look lost when Shane Watson's inviting medium pacers wrecked the set batsman's innings, with a 21-year old debutant left at the crease with Nos. 10 & 11 with 17 runs still to get. That he got there off the last ball displays a calculating and cool head on Chris Woakes' shoulders and suggests that he will have a long international future. That said, he was included in this side for his bowling, which was a little wayward at times - he does not yet swing the ball enough or at sufficient pace to be a genuine threat in all conditions in all forms of the game. England did well to restrict Australia to 157 after a flying start afforded them by Watson, who absolutely brutalised Graeme Swann in his first over. However, Bresnan, Yardy and Shahzad all pulled things back towards the middle and end of the innings, showing a bowling attack, whilst lacking out-and-out pace, that can support one another and cover when somebody has an off day. Watson aside, Australia didn't offer a great deal in this game, although it's great to see Brett Lee back in international cricket.
2nd T20I (Melbourne) - Australia 147-7 (20 overs) (Finch 53* off 33: 4 x 4s, 2 x 6s; Swann 4-0-19-2, Yardy 4-0-19-2) beat England 143-6 (20 overs) (Johnson 4-0-29-3, Watson 4-0-17-2) by 4 runs. A very similar pattern to the first game, albeit on what appeared a slightly more difficult track to bat on. Australia flew out of the traps with Warner, Watson and Paine, but then were pegged back by some expert spin bowling by Swann and Yardy. So much so that Collingwood thought it was a good idea to try Kevin Pietersen near the end. It wasn't. The man who held the innings together was Aaron Finch, a man who debuted in Adelaide and made a name for himself here. To my mind, he was the only man who found any timing off the pitch, funnily enough his home ground! A stocky build demonstrates the great power he has for hitting down the ground, although he also played very compactly behind square on the leg-side, finding gaps that none of the othe players were able to on the day. It was a lack of an innings of this sort that ultimately made England's bid for victory fall short. Bell and Davies again started well, but from there thiings just meandered, although Woakes' last over 6 suggested another classic finish could be on the cards. Sadly, Brett Lee's nous at the death proved too much for he and Tim Bresnan. Mitchell Johnson was still wayward but at least managed to surprise 3 batsmen with decent enough balls to get them out. Paul Collingwood looks pretty finished in international cricket. He wasn't able to strike above 100 in either game and, although his captaincy has been impressive in the shorter form, even his fielding is matched or bettered by some of the younger guys in the side. The World Cup may well be his last hurrah
First 3 ODIs next time
RM
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