Despite a few half-hearted efforts to stall the game, the rain came three minutes too late to save England. Australia was ahead on Duckworth-Lewis-Stern when the rain started, and with just enough overs bowled to ensure a result, the tourists secured a 3-2 series victory, ending any debate about who the true victors were.
Rebooted before the series and then resurgent from a 2-0 deficit, England primarily had themselves to blame on the final day of the summer. They started aggressively after being put in to bat, with Ben Duckett’s 91-ball 107 and Harry Brook’s electrifying 72 from 52 balls raising hopes of a total over 400. However, they were undone by Travis Head’s part-time spin and were all out for 309 with four balls remaining.
It was then a tense wait to see if 20 overs would be bowled in the chase to determine a winner as a weather front moved in from the southwest. There was a mandatory drinks break after 17 overs, and a convenient change of boots for Matthew Potts, reminiscent of the 2009 Cardiff incident. Despite these delays, Australia managed to sneak four balls past the crucial 20-over mark when the rain arrived at 4.29pm.
Having capitalized on some loose deliveries from England’s seamers to reach 165 for two, with opener Matthew Short scoring 50 from just 30 balls, Australia secured a convincing 49-run victory on DLS when the officials called time at 6pm.
Brook might have missed an opportunity here, even if it would have been a controversial move. Brydon Carse had beaten Steve Smith’s bat in the 20th over, and although his appeal was half-hearted, a frivolous review by Brook could have delayed the game further. Given Australia’s comeback on the day, Head’s career-best figures of four for 28 were pivotal, and the final outcome was ultimately deserved.
England had never come back from 2-0 down in an ODI series to win 3-2, and in that regard, Brook and his team deserve credit for setting up the possibility. Brook also surpassed Virat Kohli for the most runs by a captain in an ODI series against Australia; 312 to Kohli’s 310 in 2019 after hitting Adam Zampa for six of his seven sixes on the day.
When Brook and Duckett were dominating with a 132-run fourth-wicket stand to reach 202 for two in the 25th over, England was firmly in control. However, after Brook miscued a shot to long on, a perplexing collapse of eight for 107 ensued. This was only slightly offset by Adil Rashid’s 35-ball 36 and a last-wicket stand of 33 with Olly Stone.
On a day when Aaron Hardie’s early strikes indicated the dominance of seam, finger spin proved to be the true challenge on this pitch. Head, the eighth bowler used by Smith, was the one to deliver it.
