Captain hits 105 as visitors beat England in 2nd ODI
Michael Clarke's century and a disciplined bowling effort propelled Australia to an 88-run victory over England in the second one-day international on Sunday, giving the tourists a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Still smarting from a 3-0 loss in the Ashes, the Australians outplayed the hosts with bat and ball at Old Trafford to suggest the ODIs will be a very different proposition to the test series between the old foes.
Clarke made a fluent 105 for his eighth ODI century, with his 155-run partnership with George Bailey (82) for the fourth wicket pushing the tourists to 315-7 after surprisingly being put in to bat.
England, playing an experimental side with the 2015 World Cup in mind, required a record run-chase to win in Manchester but never got near the target despite some lusty shot-making from Jos Buttler (75) and opener Kevin Pietersen (60). Clint McKay took 3-47 and Mitchell Johnson (2-36) also bowled sharply as England was dismissed for 227 with 5.4 overs left.
“Winning is a habit,” Bailey said. “So we will take any win we can at the moment.”The first ODI was abandoned as a no result on Friday following a wash-out.
England captain Eoin Morgan helped delay the inevitable with 54 in the forlorn reply but he had already played a key role in his team's demise by opting to bowl first, in an attempt to take advantage of morning conditions that appeared ideal for seamers.
It backfired and once the Australians recovered from losing opener Shaun Marsh for a duck to the fourth ball of the day, they dominated the match.
“Regardless if we had batted or bowled first, we didn't play well enough today,” Morgan said. “We struggled to cope with the conditions ... and 300-plus was a big ask for us.”
Clarke, who said he would have batted if he'd won the toss, laid into England's bowlers with a flurry of boundaries at a ground where he struck 187 in the third Ashes test last month. He finished with 14 fours for his first ODI hundred against England and the highest individual score by an Australian at Old Trafford.
Bailey was even more belligerent, his six down the ground off Ben Stokes that brought up his fifty being arguably the shot of the match. Bailey struck five fours and four sixes in his 67-ball knock.
Brief Scores
Australia: 315-7 (Michael Clarke 105, George Bailey 82; Boyd Rankin 2-49) defeated England: 227 (Jos Buttler 75, Kevin Pietersen 60; Clint McKay 3-47) by 88 runs.