Winner takes it all
Cricket’s greatest rivalry, one of the game’s oldest formats and we are tied up in a five match ODI series as the fifth and final ODI will be the decider for the England vs Australia white-ball series. It doesn’t get any better if you’re a cricket lover.
Ahead of the fifth ODI between England and Australia, here’s our match preview and predictions.
England vs Australia 5th ODI | Australia tour of England 2024 | 15:30 IST, 29 September 2024
After being ordinary with the ball in the opening two ODIs, Harry Brook and his boys have pulled up their socks and the English bowlers have been clinical in the third and fourth ODIs as they tied up the series 2-2 after being 0-2 down.
On a wet afternoon at Lord’s, the hosts were put in to bat in a shortened game consisting of 39 overs. Phil Salt and Ben Duckett gave England a stable start and it was Duckett along with Harry Brooks with some late fireworks from Liam Livingstone which helped England post a mammoth 312/5 in their 39 overs. With the ball, the Australian bowlers were pasted all over Lord’s with it seeming like this would be a run-fest at Lord’s. Barring Josh Hazlewood, who got some purchase early on, all the Australian bowlers got the stick.
It was a complete reversal though, once the hosts took the ball as Jofra Archer was unplayable with the new ball with Matt Potts giving him able support. While Archer knocked over March early on, it was Potts with the crucial breakthroughs throughout, getting Steve Smith early on and then cleaned up the lower order. The two-faced pitch meant that the Australian batters couldn’t really get going and barring the opening stand between Marsh and Travis Head, Australia had no other batter even cross 15.
It was a dominating performance from Brook and co. and heading into the final ODI, it should be the hosts with the advantage but ruling out the Australians when they are forced up against the wall is a daft move and we will sway just a little bit towards the visitors’ side for the fifth ODI. We should be in for a cracking encounter as Australia are sure to bounce back after two big losses and at the County Ground in Bristol, which generally favours the bowlers quite a bit, it will be a test of the batting lineups and given the current form of the English batters, they will have the edge. Australia’s middle order has not gotten going at any point in the series and barring a 60 from Steve Smith and 77 from Marnus Labuschagne, they’ve relied heavily on their openers and late-order heroics from Alex Carey. Both Smith and Labuschagne are two of the most talented and experienced names in the visitor’s squad and they would be hoping that the two stars turn up in the series decider.
Fantasy XI
Travis Head, Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Liam Livingstone, Mitchell Starc, Jofra Archer, Matthew Potts, Josh Hazlewood
Venue: Bristol
Winners Prediction: Australia
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