England’s stand-in captain, Harry Brook, struck his maiden ODI century in a rain-affected third match of the series against Australia, leading his team to a crucial 46-run win via the Duckworth-Lewis- (DLS) method. Harry Brook’s sensational knock kept England alive in the five-match series, with Australia’s lead trimmed to 2-1. At just 25 years and 215 days, Harry Brook became the youngest England captain to score an ODI century; he is leading the side in the absence of Jos Buttler, who is nursing a right calf injury.
Harry Brook’s scintillating maiden ODI hundred led England to victory over Australia at Chester-Le-Street, a seemingly daunting chase handled with some comfort before the rain arrived to produce a 46-run margin on Duckworth-Lewis-Stern. England’s first win in the format since December kept the series alive with two to play, whilst also ending Australia’s 14-game winning run stretching back to the 2023 World Cup.
Pitch and Toss
The track at the Riverside Ground in Chester-Le-Street has a lot to offer for the batters, especially in the first half of the game. The average first innings score at the venue has been 236. The defending team has won 10 ODI games while the chasing team has won 13 times. The surface also provides help to the pacers in the second innings of the game. So, the team that wins the toss will look to bat first.
England skipper Harry Brook won the toss and chose to field with Jofra Archer back in the playing XI in place of Olly Stone. Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh batting first made two changes in his playing XI bringing in Cameron Green and Sean Abbott for Adam Zampa and Travis Head.
Alex Carey, Steve Smith and Aaron Hardie propels Australia to 304 for 7
A dominant 14-match winning run in ODIs came to a halt for Australia with the loss in the third ODI. Alex Carey’s unbeaten 77 and a late cameo of 44 off 26 balls by Aaron Hardie had powered Australia to 304-7 in their 50 overs. Steve Smith also contributed a patient 60, but the innings was slowed when Cameron Green (42) and Marnus Labuschagne (0) fell in the space of five balls.
There was a sense of eerie familiarity to the proceedings as once again Alex Carey was crucial to push Australia to what appeared a winnable total at that stage. In fact, they did a lot better than the second ODI where even 270 was enough to double their series lead. In Chester-Le-Street on Monday, Carey’s unbeaten 77 along with Steve Smith’s hard-fought half-century and cameos from Cameron Green (42 off 49) and Aaron Hardie (44 off 26) set Australia up in their quest to wrap up the series.
Australia, having been inserted, were indebted once again to Carey – only in the side after an injury sustained by Josh Inglis during the T20I series – as he top-scored for the second game in a row. After Steven Smith laid the foundations with his first fifty of the series in testing conditions, Carey and the lower order cut loose to add 104 from the last 10 overs, with Aaron Hardie showing his power in a career-best 44 off 26 that included twice putting Jofra Archer into the stands.
England only struck once during the first powerplay but there was something there for the seamers, as Brook had hoped at the toss. Short, partnered by Marsh in the absence of Head, was caught hooking Archer to deep backward square leg, two balls after hitting the same shot for six. Matthew Potts then thought he had removed Smith lbw, only for ball-tracking to show the delivery would have cleared leg stump on review.
Marsh battled through powerplay while taking several blows to the body but fell straight after, Brydon Carse using home-ground knowledge to locate a nibbly Riverside length and straighten one through to Jamie Smith off the outside edge. From there Australia looked to rebuild, with the third-wicket pair of Smith and Green largely employing low-risk shots during a stand worth 84, seeing off the frontline seamers before looking to target spin, in particular the fifth-bowler combination.
Jacob Bethell and Jacks leaked boundaries initially but, with Australia beginning to look well placed, both spinners struck in quick succession. First Green smacked Bethell to Jacks at straight mid-on, the fielder having just been moved back from a close-in position, then Marnus Labuschagne got in a tangle looking to scoop Jacks and popped a simple catch to the keeper.
Australia were suddenly 132 for 4 and grateful for Smith’s stickability as went on to a 71-ball fifty, reaching the mark with his fifth boundary. Brook then went back to Archer and he finally won a duel with Smith, taking his wicket for the first time in international cricket as Carse pulled off a brilliant running catch at deep square leg.
At 172 for 5, the innings could have fallen away but Carey put on rapid half-century stands with Maxwell and Hardie to tip the game back towards Australia. Hardie’s aggression from No. 8 stood out as 55 runs flowed from the last four overs to put England under pressure. But Brook, with the bat, had a worthy response.
Skipper Harry Brook 110* fires England chase to help keep series alive
They took a big step in that direction when the similarity to the last game extended to the start of the England innings as they lost openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett early – to Mitchell Starc – and fell to 11/2. But Jacks and Harry Brook combined to flip the script with a match-defining 156-run stand off 147 deliveries.
With gloomy overheads, big square boundaries and seamer-friendly conditions were expected to side with Australia and their five-pronged attack but Jacks and Harry Brook swiftly established their authority over the match situation by picking boundaries at easy even after the PowerPlay. By the end, they had hit 22 fours and three sixes between them.
With Adam Zampa not playing, Mitchell Marsh’s spin options were Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Short – the latter going for 12 runs in the only over he bowled where Brook brought up his fifty.
Jack’s fifty came up in the following over off Starc, who was back in the attack after his four-over burst early on to try and break this blossoming stand. Jacks and Brook caused further headaches for Marsh by taking on his star bowler for three fours in a 19-run over. Starc looked elsewhere for a breakthrough but in vain as the England pair brought their side upto speed at 151/2 in 25 overs.
A short ball from Green in the 28th over came with Jack’s name on it as he top-edged it to Sean Abbott at short-third man to depart for an 82-ball 89 – an innings laced with 9 four and a six. Green then made the England dugout a touch queasy with the quick wicket of Jamie Smith but Liam Livingstone walked out for a breezy, unbeaten 33 off 20 that nudged England ahead of the the asking rate.
During the course of this 57-run undefeated stand, Harry Brook brought up his maiden ODI ton. This pair began to make such quick progress – including taking on Starc once again – that by the time rain stopped play they were ahead of the par score by 46 runs (at 254/4 in 37.4 overs). Harry Brook got to 110 off 94 with 13 fours and two sixes.
There was a brief period when it felt like the play could resume after the first round of showers but that was short-lived. Even before the process of taking the covers off could commence, rain returned and soon brought a premature end to the game.
Harry Brook’s inexperienced side looked to be in trouble after failing to contain Australia with the ball despite helpful conditions early on, Alex Carey’s unbeaten 77 leading the cavalry charge in the second half of the innings. England then stumbled to 11 for 2 in the fourth over, Mitchell Starc removing both openers in the space of five balls.
But a stand of 156 between Harry Brook and Will Jacks, who made 84, flipped the chase on its head. Although Jacks and Jamie Smith were both bounced out by Cameron Green, Harry Brook was joined by Liam Livingstone in another pulsating stand that brought the requirement down to 51 from 74 balls, at which point the weather closed in.
Harry Brook walked off unbeaten on 110 from 94 balls, with 15 boundaries, having become the youngest England captain to score a century in ODIs. Australia were without a key member of their attack, with Adam Zampa missing through illness – they also opted to rest Travis Head – but this was nevertheless a hugely encouraging performance and a vital demonstration of what England’s new-look batting line-up could achieve after two costly implosions at Trent Bridge and Headingly.
Australia’s greater nous had appeared likely to determine the result shortly after the innings break. Faced with making what would have been the second-highest successful chase at the Riverside – after the 311 overhauled against the same opponents in 2018 – England started badly, Phil Salt chipping Starc’s eighth ball to midwicket and Ben Duckett edging a drive to be caught at backward point.
Both Jacks and Harry Brook were quick to show glimpses of what they could do, even amid the wreckage. Jacks clipped his fourth ball, from Hazlewood, serenely back down the ground to long-on, while Brooks’ fifth, a slightly overpitched delivery from Starc, disappeared through extra cover.
By and large they batted watchfully at the outset, occasionally attempting to play with the bowlers’ lengths such as when Jacks advanced to thrash Hazlewood through the off side. England were 45 for 2 at the end of the first powerplay – Australia had been 41 for 1 – and began to open up as Mitchell Marsh shuffled through his bowling options. Harry Brook slapped Glenn Maxwell’s first ball over the head of mid-off, then did the same to Matthew Short with an even bigger hit that sailed all the way.
Harry Brook went to a 54-ball fifty in the same over, his first since taking up the captaincy as cover for the injured Jos Buttler. The hundred partnership arrived two balls later, before Jacks brought up his own half-century, from 55 balls, as the volume levels in the home crowd began to increase. The atmosphere only became more raucous when Starc’s sixth over was ransacked for 19, his third-most expensive in ODIs: Jacks driving and pulling fours before Harry Brook capped the over with a lofted drive over cover.
The momentum was now with England and, although Jacks fell via an uppercut to deep third before Jamie Smith’s top-edged pull ended up in the hands of deep backward square leg, Harry Brook was unperturbed, back-to-back fours off Starc taking him to three figures for only the second time in List A cricket.
Livingstone had by then already struck two of his first seven balls for six and, with the threat of rain in the air, sped England ahead of the DLS requirement with another flurry of boundaries, the result well beyond doubt by the time heavy rain arrived.
Coming to the crease with England in trouble at 11-2 in the 305-run chase, Harry Brook played a counter-attacking knock. His 94-ball 110 included 13 boundaries and two sixes, as he surpassed his previous ODI-best score of 80. Partnering with Will Jacks, who made a vital 84 from 82 balls, Brook helped turn the tide in England’s favour with a 156-run stand for the third wicket.
With big-hitting Liam Livingstone hitting at a strike rate of 165 (unbeaten 33 off 20 balls), England were well ahead on the DLS score when rain interrupted play in the 38th over.
Harry Brook’s second fifty came off just 33 balls as he accelerated the innings, keeping in mind the worsening weather conditions. He reached his century with back-to-back boundaries. Harry Brook surpassed Alastair Cook’s 13-year-old English record; Cook had smashed a century as England’s captain when he was 26.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Mitchell Marsh the loosing Australia skipper said : Thought we did extremely well to get to 300. Carey and Hardie were outstanding towards the end. I thought 250 was par after the start, we certainly were in the game at the halfway mark. They obviously got a good partnership going and fair play to them, we will try to win the series in London. Anytime we miss him (Zampa) it is going to be hard work and look forward to welcome him back in the coming games.
Harry Brook the winning skipper and Player of the Match for his 110 not out said : We started off really nice with the ball, with the bat me and Jacks tried to stay out there as long as possible and build that partnership. I definitely thought the pitch got better towards the end of Australia’s innings.
It’s nice to get the first one (talking about his maiden ODI hundred) off the board and hopefully many more to come. We’re gonna keep on doing what we said we are gonna do and keep the group positive which will hold us in good stead.
A much-needed win for England. One that will spike their confidence levels for the rest of the series. All said, the toss did prove to be a key factor as well. The ground was under covers yesterday due to persistent rain which meant there was enough spice on the surface for the English bowlers to exploit and keep a lid on the scoring rate. Extra bounce, movement off the seam and in the air are among the key contributors that forced the Australian batters to adapt a dig-deep-and-play-safe approach.
The lower-middle order injected a lot of momentum towards the end, but the surface just kept getting batter and under lights it proved to be a proper road. Starc removed both openers in his second over, but that was that for Australia’s hopes. A 156-run stand between Jacks and Brook followed which pretty much sealed the deal for the home side.
Although Jacks missed out on a well-deserved century, Brook notched up his maiden ODI ton and looked determined to stay till the end. Not rain though, it played hide-and-seek for a while and then displayed its true colors (read: heavy rain). Australia’s 14-match winning streak comes to an end. Their last ODI defeat was against South Africa in Lucknow at the World Cup last year.
This was England’s first ODI win over Australia after seven straight defeats; they had won 12 of the previous 15 head-to-head contests. Heavy rain has had the final say as England win by 46 runs on DLS. Given the rains yesterday, we are, in fact, lucky to have gotten nearly 88 overs in this game. To make that smile broader for the English fans, the series is alive as Australia lead by 2-1 with 2 games to go with the fourth match to be scheduled on Friday.