No one promised us reliability and, sure enough, this England one-day side, which has excited and exasperated this summer, delivered their tamest performance in this “final”. Australia won by eight wickets with 25.4 overs to spare, a thrashing not anticipated after England had fought back from 2-0 down in this series. Just about everything that could go wrong for England did.
Even the winning of what seemed an important toss was a mixed blessing. They lost wickets in clumps and they also lost their captain, who has been such an inspiration. Eoin Morgan was forced to retire hurt having been hit on the helmet by a short ball from Mitchell Starc and he was never sighted again. Understandably he was advised not to return as he was suffering from concussion.
England were bundled out for a paltry 138 and, under the leadership of James Taylor, there was no way back despite the capture of two early wickets. Aaron Finch and George Bailey swatted the ball to most parts of Old Trafford, where a disappointed capacity crowd entertained themselves with a variety of Mexican waves before heading home early.
Like too many of this summer’s Ashes matches there was plenty of drama but not much tension. Perhaps the chaotic nature of England’s batting was reflected in the first over of the day bowled by Starc.
The first ball slid down the leg side to the boundary and was given as runs; the second found Jason Roy given out lbw but a review confirmed contact with the bat. He was deemed to be lbw again by umpire Joel Wilson to the fourth ball but this time Roy – after a prolonged and unhelpful conversation with his partner Alex Hales – opted not to review. It transpired that the in-swinger from Starc pitched outside leg-stump and would have missed it as well.
No doubt Roy and his colleagues back in the pavilion were dismayed by the television evidence. It may be that Hales was also disturbed by the fact that he had not given the best advice to his recent partner. Certainly Hales, under the spotlight after a poor series, was off the pace during his brief innings. An inside edge which sped past his leg stump was his only source of runs before he sliced a gentle catch to backward point off John Hastings, whose figures would soon look like those of a pace bowling legend rather than a stalwart stopgap.
At least Taylor looked in good form before he edged to the keeper off Hastings. Then came the numbing blow to Morgan, who almost let the ball hit him. Rooted to the crease, Morgan’s body barely moved as a short ball thudded into his helmet.
It was not the first time this has happened to him in this series and confirmed a disturbing trend among modern batsmen.
They seem to take being hit on the helmet as an inevitable occupational hazard. Evasive action is no longer deemed essential, which is a dangerous development. Just occasionally Morgan’s batting, which has often been brilliant in this series, has an uncanny resemblance to that of his namesake, Piers, foolishly trapped in a net with Brett Lee. After examination by the team doctor, Nick Pierce, Morgan left the pitch groggily and there was obvious concern from the players of both sides and in particular from Starc. England never really recovered from those traumatic first seven overs.
Ben Stokes produced a polished little innings of 42 until he was carelessly lbw to Mitchell Marsh; Adil Rashid (35 not out) also delivered a little cameo before he was left stranded. Somehow he managed to conjure a 32-run last wicket-partnership with Reece Topley, who was given his first cap for England, a debut which sadly found his batting being more effective than his bowling, not a good sign.
The rest of the batsmen were swept away not by the Aussie express men, but by their supposed journeymen: Hastings and Marsh, who ended up with four for 27 from six overs, the man of a not particularly good match award and a cheque for being man of the series. The lower middle order fell away all too easily, often taking a liberty too many and falling lbw. On a benign surface there had been a golden opportunity for Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali or David Willey to save the day. None of them could linger long so Australia were batting before the lunch break.
The Australians stuttered to 36 for two from 10 overs before the interval yet only required another 14.2 overs to knock off the necessary 103 runs afterwards. Bailey attacked a wayward Rashid off the back foot; Finch drove powerfully against the quicker bowlers and then kept sweeping Moeen’s off-breaks violently. Soon amid modest celebrations – for this was not Australia’s primary goal on this tour – Steve Smith collected the Royal London Trophy.
It was a tepid ending to the international summer. England, for all their recent technicolour cricket, had whimpered out in what was effectively a final. Meanwhile Smith has some silverware to take home. Not that he will be there for long. Australia start a Test series in Bangladesh in three weeks’ time.
