England has finally managed to win one game in the seven-game ODI to end the series on a high against Australia. The tourists, thus, win the series 6-1, failed in their bid to become the first ever side to make a clean sweep in a seven-game series.
England won the toss and decided to field first on a rather moist looking pitch at Chester-le-Street. They had immediate success when both the Aussie openers fell within the first four overs – for only 17. However, Ricky Ponting was joined by Michael Clarke and looked like he was in sublime touch. He drove on the off side well and if the bowler drifted down the leg side, he flicked the ball away to get his runs. At the other end, Michael Clarke struggled for most part of his innings, and wasn’t able to find the timing right.
However, the pair added 79 runs for the third wicket, and at one stage, the Aussies were 96/2 in the 25th over – and looking good! This is when, Graeme Swann stuck for the first time in the innings, to have Ponting drive one straight to Paul Collingwood. The captain had completed his fifty by then and his 53 came off only 67 balls. Clarke, on the other hand scraped through to 38 (81 balls) before being run-out by Eoin Morgan at short fine-leg.
With four wickets gone for 110, this was the beginning of the collapse, as Swann then picked up the next four in the span of 48 runs to capture his first ever five-wicket haul, as the Aussies collapsed to 176 all out. Michael Hussey remained the only batsman who got a push along with a 49 off 54, but couldn’t do much to stem the flow of the wickets.
England did not need much to win the game, but prior experiences in the series meant that it was difficult to rule the Aussies out. However, Ben Hilfenhaus had a horrendous start to the innings with his six no-balls – and free hits – while Brett Lee was economical without the kind of success that had seen him get the most number of wickets. The opening pair of Andrew Strauss and Joe Denly took full toll of this and were positive with their batting to add 106 runs for the first wicket in less than 21 overs.
The match seemed sealed by this time, when the hosts allowed the Aussies a toehold by undergoing another of the collapses. Five wickets – including the openers – fell for 35 runs, while the sixth was dismissed at 162; leaving them with 15 runs to get and had four wickets standing. Fortunately, Paul Collingwood kept his cool and thwarted any chance that the Aussies had to win the game for his side.
Swann was the obvious choice for the man of the match, whereas Cameron White was declared the man of the series for his couple of match winning innings.