The summer of cricket 2020

First topic message reminder :

alfie wrote:Not sure why you chaps wanted Billings at five ?  I know Buttler has mislaid his run scoring the last two games ; but he's been in rare form over the previous few weeks and I don't think he needs protecting

Fifty for YJB

Zampa has started really well...

Were Stokes in the side he'd be batting five to consolidate the innings before upping the run rate himself and setting it up for a Buttler charge in the last 15 overs, that theory should stay the same with Billings in the side for. Hoping Jos proves me wrong however.

Big 6, 10 from the over so far. Presume that Morgan will go back to Wood soon.

Maxwell playing quite a hand here ...that went miles !

Anyone else getting nervous ?

alfie wrote:Maxwell playing quite a hand here ...that went miles !

Anyone else getting nervous ?

Yepidy yep yep.

Time for Wood I think. Root bowling 8 overs and Rashid now 5 overs means we don't need to bowl anymore spin if Maxwell is whacking it.

alfie wrote:Maxwell playing quite a hand here ...that went miles !

Anyone else getting nervous ?

Yes, it's game on now. England might only need one wicket to check the advance, but it looks elusive at the moment.

Tricky for Morgan now. I thought Rashid bowled poorly on Sunday ; but tonight he's just been unlucky...so you can see why he's still on.

Maxwell misses a few but then hits another six...

If these two stay in much longer the Aussies will be favourites. But a wicket changes everything. Since Root bowled eight , Morgan can mix it up in the run home Curran has a lot left.

Archer back now. He's not had a great night so far ; needs to bowl better now as its only eight per over from here and they're doing that regularly.

Even with the long tail I think the Aussies will be getting excited about this...

My fault trying to "call" the game too early ...really did think it was done and dusted at 73/5 ! But these teams don't do "comfortable"

Basically 8 an over from the last 10 overs.

It's on this partnership. England need to break it ASAP. Wood looks the most likely.

I'd get Curran on at the other end. He has a tendency to make things happen at the death.

150 partnership.

Fantastic effort. But they need at least another 40 runs before they can afford to lose a wicket. Can't leave too much to the bowlers.

Neither side knws when they are beaten do they

Keeping Archer on. Not sure about this...think I'd be going to Curran... It doesn't seem to be Jofra's night.

Still got two each left for Wood and Woakes. Curran still has six. Won't try Rashid again unless these two are out.

Need 67 off eight. WINVIZ must be about even now ?

Time to get Woakes back for an over, or Curran for a couple. Archer not looking penetrative.

Highest 6th wicket partnership against England and highest 6th wicket by Australia against anyone. It is a freak innings .....Aus becoming favourites. Ahead on DLS now

That sloppy fielding could kill England.

Curran time. This better work or I think Australia are winning this.

Comms are still on about saving Archer's last two overs ; but I'm not sure I'd want him to bowl them. At least not at these two.

Only 57 more so even if they get one of these out the bowlers might finish the chase from here...

Astonishing comeback by Australia !

Now that Australia have it in their grasp, they're going to choke...right?

Woakes bowling really well but I fear keeping them to singles won't cut it...

Only 43 needed off five and it's England now needing a bit of a miracle. Carey has had his share of luck but he's bringing his team home with Maxwell ...who reaches his hundred with another six !

Think this is done.

Gooseberry wrote:Highest 6th wicket partnership against England and highest 6th wicket by Australia against anyone. It is a freak innings .....Aus becoming favourites. Ahead on DLS now

That sloppy fielding could kill England.

I very rarely criticise Morgan but sloppy fielding, the no ball and (now the Morgan bit) overbowling Root when England could have gone for the jugular.

IMO it should have been either pace from both ends when Maxwell came to the crease or Rashid on straight away before these two were set.

Brilliant century from Maxwell. I really like him as a cricketer but I'm really struggling to like it just now.

For all their reputation for winning from anywhere england are also getting good at losing from anywhere. Shades of Ireland again.

Highest 6th wicket second innings partnership ever in ODIs and Carey isnt even much of a batsman

Duty281 wrote:Now that Australia have it in their grasp, they're going to choke...right?

Not this time. Did England subcounciously relax at five down I wonder ? That wretched no ball ! And all downhill from there...

Have to credit these two ...fantastic partnership

Look as though the Archer no-ball was the turning point. And a world-class ODI knock from Maxwell, with able support from Carey, looks to have done it for Australia.

So many shock turnarounds this summer that I'm struggling to feel surprise!

Rashid is the last roll of the dice for Morgan and for England.

It's been a brilliant summer of cricket all things considered.

Hundred for Carey

Not sure it's fair to blame over bowling Root. Rashid and Archer have both gone round the park - which you wouldn't bet on happening the same day.
One overstep. One dropped catch. Small margins.

Rashid to bowl the 48th ! ? ! Bit late but he's got Maxwell

curran did his best to drop that! hope again

Could there be a final twist....

Maxwell gets away with it first time, repeats it, doesn't get away with it second time. Well done Rashid.

Slight bit of hope for England. The very slightest.

Can Rashid get another?

Cummins on strike to start the next over. Surely England have to squeeze? Take it to the final over.

They aren't going to collapse from here though. Only need 18 more...

Pity Rashid couldn't get that one even three or four overs ago ! But have to praise Morgan for his cool in bringing him back so late.

Two overs left . 14 needed. Archer ? Well if he's got anything up his sleeve now's the time to produce it !

Oh my word. Only four off the over and key batsman Carey out on the last ball of the over.

What a catch. It's turning again, lads, and we've got a game on!

What a catch!

Surely not...

Archer's best over tonight. And Carey caught at third man

Terrific catch by Mark Wood !

Now I suppose it will be Wood to bowl the last over ? Need to hold them under ten...

Or is Rashid staying on ? ?

Stop calling me Shirley

Archer's best over tonight. And Carey caught at third man

Terrific catch by Mark Wood !  

Now I suppose it will be Wood to bowl the last over ?  Need to hold them under ten...

Or is Rashid staying on ? ?

Rashid. A mistake , I fear. Starc smashes a six...

Think it should have been Wood.

Rashid to bowl the last?

Not one I agree with, with Wood and Curran left.

Ah, six off the first.

Starc off his first ball in this situation. Huge hit.

Morgan might have tried to get a bit to funky here! Just get Wood to bowl rockets at the tail.

Morgan might have tried to get a bit to funky here! Just get Wood to bowl rockets at the tail.

Something about 50 over cricket being a dead format

And Australia win.

Superb partnership from Maxwell and Carey to win the match.

That final over decision to bowl Rashid was all kinds of wrong, with Curran a superb death bowler, and Wood with the pace to trouble two new batters.

Fun old summer. Well done to all the touring sides who came over.

Duty281 wrote:Rashid to bowl the last?

Not one I agree with, with Wood and Curran left.

Ah, six off the first.

Yeah. Australia win. ..well done them.

Morgan erred then.With ten to protect you don't bowl a leg spinner against tail enders who can hit. Really surprised he made that choice.

Australia will be delighted. England should be gutted as they really should have buried them...

A brilliant match.

Great innings from Maxwell, a good support act from Carey and then Starc at the end.

The gamble with Rashid didn't pay off in the final over but we've learnt a lot more from England being out of their comfort zone on tougher batting pitches than we would have learnt from them playing on more roads.

Great knock from Maxwell, fantastic game to end a great summer of cricket too

Without Rashid’s 48th over, it would have been game over anyway I guess. He just didn’t execute well - got it too full and didn’t give it a chance to spin and confuse the tailenders who won’t have picked it.

Maybe Morgan is still preparing for Cups in India ? Testing Rashid...

Curran and Wood had each bowled a maiden tonight. Had to be a more logical choice . Ah well. We all get it wrong sometimes.

Yeah really not sure about Rashid for the last over but ultimately thats not what cost England. Roy and Roots form with the bat, Moeen just not being Maxwel, consistently sloppy fielding and Ben Stokes missing are bigger issues in the grand scheme of things.

Great game but very deflating for England to end on a loss.

It's fair enough to give Rashid the 48th over. Game was effectively gone by that point, it was a hail mary and pretty much the only option left, because everything else had failed.

But after the end of the 49th, England were favourites. Australia needed 10 from Starc/Cummings, freshly arrived at the crease. Curran is an option - because he's a superb death bowler - and so is Wood - because his pace troubles tailenders.

But Rashid is not a viable option in that scenario. It was spectacularly bad captaincy, as was giving Root 8 overs (!).

Ultimately, though, the key turning point was Archer overstepping when he 'dismissed' Carey.

So goose's bunnies Starc and Cummins get Australia over the line.

Deflating for England supporters as goose says - like others I thought we had it done and dusted when Labuschange was run out - but another cracking game and series.

I would have given the ball to Tom for the last over but with 10 to win and 3 wickets left, I would still have fancied Australia then.

Like others again, I thought Root was given too many overs notwithstanding his early wickets. My approach would have been to whip him off after 4 overs and try the frontliners to get some more back in the hutch instead of rather letting it tick over. It's not as if we didn't have enough bowlers.

In contrast, one area which I don't think has been mentioned and where Australia performed impressively and effectively was in their use of the fifth bowler made up of Marsh and Maxwell. Although wicketless, that combo only yielded 48 runs from their 10 overs. We should have been looking to take them for about 65 which would probably have made all the difference.

Rare for Morgan to make too many mistakes but he made two big ones; bowled Root too much and then bowling Rashid in the final over. Good partnership and whilst i'm too concerned about Maxwell getting away, letting Carey go big isn't good enough i'm afraid, missing Plunkett a lot.

The use of the spinners was so odd that it makes me wonder if England are playing the long game with the next World Cup being in India. Get the spinners bowling in high pressure situations. Perhaps a sign that England might be eyeing Dilly as a genuine death bowling option and Root as a 6th bowling option longer term.

Early in Morgan's reign starting the last 'World Cup cycle' there were a few games England lost by being as attacking with the bat as we've now come to expect. At the time I was worried that we'd swung from one extreme (Flower's percentage play ODI tactics) to the other (swing at everything). Backing the players paid off in the long run though.

In the scheme of that match it made little sense to bowl the leggie final over. Particularly when Curran was warming up before Carey got out. From that final over you're either thinking:

- Bowl 6 balls at Cummins and Starc but protect the boundaries so they have to get 10 runs with finding the rope. For me that bowler would be Curran. Pace off and yorkers. Stop Starc freeing his hands at the ball, rely on England's out fielding to make running twos difficult. 

- Risk a boundary by attacking more but look to get either Cummins/Starc out. Then try to bowl dots at Zampa/Hazlewood. For me that bowler would be Wood. They might get a streaky four off the edge if he misses his yorker at 90mph but also a good chance of getting a wicket with full, straight bowling.

I guess Rashid is an option for the later tactic of risk a boundary to get a wicket. I just can't imagine England would have gone to Dilly if it was a knockout game though.

Regardless of the disappointment it's nice to see an England cricket side that have been on top looking to evolve their tactics. These risks have largely paid off in the long run under Morgan so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt - though I wasn't feeling quite that way when Starc first connected with that 6.

cricketingview on twitter makes a solid argument in his substack

cricketingview wrote:At some point, Morgan must have worked out who his bowlers were going to be in the final overs of the match. Chris Woakes was bowled in the 47th over. His options were Wood, Rashid and Curran. Archer had bowled overs 40, 42 and 49, going for 6, 9 and 4. Wood had bowled overs 37, 39, 41 and 43, going for 5, 6, 5 and 9. Adil Rashid had not bowled since over 38, in which he had gone for 9.

Considering the record of all the available bowlers in last 10 overs of an ODI, it is easy to see why Morgan favored Rashid in the final over against the new batsman, and a tail-ender at that. Rashid was more likely to get a wicket compared to Wood or Curran.

Death over bowling sr
Adil Rashid 15.0
Chris Woakes 20.5
Mark Wood 28.7
Tom Curran 25.2
Jofra Archer 15.9

Mitchell Starc was on strike. Against fast bowling in the final 10 overs of an ODI, Starc has made 248 in 259 balls for 16 dismissals. He’s dismissed once every 16 balls, and he scores at a run a ball. By contrast, before this game, Starc had faced only 25 balls of wrist spin in the final overs of an ODI in his career, scoring 22 runs, and being dismissed once. Wrist spin is unfamiliar to Starc compared to fast bowling.

Given that there wasn’t an obvious option to defend 10 in the final over, and given that if Starc and Cummins survived six balls, they’d probably have scored 10 runs, using Rashid for the 50 over was probably not a terrible idea. The chance of Rashid forcing a miscue when Starc inevitably went for the six was worth the gamble, especially since Starc was new at the wicket. As it happened, the gamble didn’t pay off. Starc smashed Rashid’s googly over long-on for six.