Roy century helps England overpower Australia again
Another ruthless performance from England, again led by their rampant opening pair Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy and finished by a brutal half-century from Jos Buttler, secured the fourth match of the ODI series against Australia by six wickets as the gunned down 311 with more than five overs to spare.
Australia captain Tim Paine won the toss, and there was almost a collective groan from the crowd as he opted to bat, putting to bed English hopes of another assault on the mythical 500 mark. Instead, despite a strong performance from their top three, who contributed 264 runs between them, Australia could only manage a sub-par 310/8 after a late collapse and a sedate middle-overs period, in which they were content to tick over the strike and score at around a run a ball.
Not long ago the total would have been steep, and the manner in which it was made typical, keeping wickets in hand and laying the platform for a late charge. Now, and largely thanks to the gung-ho approach of their opponents England, it is a method that has largely disappeared. This game showed why.
Though all of Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, and Travis Head, the first two making centuries, and the latter a half-century, played well, only Marsh, thanks to a late assault which brought 31 off his final 11 balls, was able to score at a strike-rate of over 100. Against a side who made 481/6 in their most recent outing, it was never likely to be enough.
Credit must be given to England, who bowled well, and especially Joe Root, whose unassuming off-breaks went for just 44 runs from 10 overs, while the efforts of the top three in laying a platform were squandered by a limp performance from the rest of the batsmen – Ashton Agar’s 19 was the next top score. It is also possible that once Australia have the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins back in action, chasing over 300 against them will seem a lot more daunting, and it did still need England to complete their second highest ODI chase.
Even that fearsome trio might not be able to make much headway into this England side however, with the power-packed line-up once again strutting their stuff. Roy and Bairstow led the way, adding 174 for the first wicket. Today was Roy’s turn to score a century, and Bairstow’s to fall short, and between them they put the result beyond doubt.
Roy's player-of-the-match performance began in the field, when he and ODI debutant Craig Overton combined for a stunning relay catch. Sprinting around the boundary as Marsh attempted to smash David Willey out of the ground, Roy gathered the ball only to realise his momentum would take him over the rope. He had the presence of mind to throw the ball back-handed to where Overton was waiting, the Somerset man completing an easy catch.
The opening batsman didn't come into this game short of confidence, having scored a combined 202 runs in his previous two innings, and the catch was a prime example of the kind of things a team and player is capable of when it's going well, and as Roy proceeded to smash the ball all around the ground, there barely seemed any undue haste, such is the sureity with which he played.
Still after he and Bairstow were dismissed in quick succession, and Root and Eoin Morgan got in and got out, England looked set to stumble over the line as they had in the first ODI. That was before Buttler marched in and ended the match with a flourish. He had made surprisingly little contribution to Tuesday’s world record total, and seemed set on making up for lost time today, bringing up his half-century in just 28 balls before firing a final boundary over cover from his 29th to seal a six-wicket win.
The two sides face off for the fifth and final time on Sunday 24 June at Old Trafford. On the evidence available, it is difficult to envisage any other outcome than another England victory.