England vs Australia ODI series - Hits and Misses

England vs Australia ODI series – Hits and Misses: Albeit the tame ending for a series finale, the England vs Australia ODI series very well lived up to it’s hype. While it was a saving grace for the touring Australians, the English can take a lot of positives, amidst a few negatives, from this series.

Here in this list is a set of players and events which defined the series in its way, both the positives and the negatives.

Hits –

Mitchell Marsh and Maxwell impress”

Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell have been widely regarded as the long-term all-rounder prospects, but this was a coming-off-age of sorts series for them. While Marsh was impressive both with the bat and ball, Glenn Maxwell was a gem of a finisher, a handy bowler and an incredible fielder. While Maxwell’s performance in the 4^th ODI nearly won them the match, it was Marsh’s spell in the 5^th which wrecked the English middle order. While both the players have a long way to go, this series will give a much-needed confidence boost ahead of a long season.

Eoin Morgan leads from the front

When Morgan was appointed as the shorter format captain at the start of the year, every one doubted his capabilities. In spite of his aggressive approach, critics and fans were skeptical. And it looked true following a disastrous world cup campaign down under. But he has paid dividends of the faith the selectors have shown him, and this series was an absolute positive in that regards. In spite of a poor start, he stood for the team when it needed him the most, and bailed them out of trouble more than once. Morgan’s concussion in the final ODI was a turning point of the match. Finally cementing himself as the limited overs captain, he will be truly tested in the upcoming tour of UAE, where he won’t be in the comfort zone anymore.

Competitive pitches

One of the major criticism England have faced over the past is their attitude towards limited overs cricket. Which also included preparing Test match wickets for ODIs as well. But that’s not the case this time around. Competitive wickets assisting both the batsmen and the bowlers is exactly what the shorter formats needed. And at the same time they did not create complete belters for the batsmen. The English curators have finally adapted for the shorter format, and the team is paying dividends.

Australia’s never say die attitude

Australia showed why they were the world champions. Starting the series with a completely dominating fashion, they lost their way midway through the series. But eventually pulled up their socks coming into the final, despite the momentum being with the English. And not just that, the middle and lower order has bailed out the team more than once even when the top order has failed. While they lack the charisma of the all-conquering Aussies of the early 2000s, it doesn’t mean this team is a champion team of it’s own right.

Misses

Injury blues

Shane Watson and David Warner, Australia’s two premier batsmen, missed the entire tour due to injury. While Watson withdrew from the tour before the ODIs, Warner played just the single ODI before getting injured the first ball he faced in the second ODI. And what’s more, Morgan’s concussion in the second ODI was a death-blow for the English batting order. While we got a competitive series, seeing these key players miss out on action at crucial junctures was indeed a loss for the series.

 Smith runs out of steam

Following a record-breaking Ashes series in England, it looked like Steven Smith will continue his fine form coming into the ODIs. But it looked like he finally ran out of steam coming into the ODIs. Scoring about 156 runs in 5 matches(70 of it coming off a single match), it was a modest series for a batsman of his caliber. His record in the shorter formats has been quite modest, and he will look to sort it out in the upcoming season.

Batting collapses

While there have been some high scores ( unusual for English standards) throughout this series, it was not devoid of some batting collapses here and there. English lost their way in the first and last match thanks to some ridiculous application from the players. The Australians lost the 3^rd match timidly in spite of a strong start, and the lower order saved their blushes in the 4^th match. While twists and turns are appreciated in ODIs, lack of application leading to batting collapses is something no cricket fan would like to see.