It has not been a lengthy international career till date but there was a graphic on broadcast towards the end of his match-winning innings that showed Josh Inglis scores nearly two-thirds of his ODI runs in the region between point and midwicket. So it was fitting that he went from 86 to 104 with three sixes in that segment of the Gaddafi Stadium. When Brydon Carse changed his pace and hit a hard length, the ball sat up for Inglis to smash one over square leg. The very next ball, out came the scoop to a length ball on off-stump, flinging it over third man for a maximum. And in the next over, another change of pace delivery, this from Jofra Archer, Inglis pulled in front of square for a massive six to reach his century. The England-born Inglis’ unbeaten 120* off 86 balls led Australia to a stunning five-wicket win against England in Lahore on Saturday, chasing down 352 with 15 balls to spare.
England had their chance though. Last ball of the 38th over, with Jos Buttler hoping for a breakthrough from his main man Adil Rashid, Alex Carey went hard with a slog-pull. The ball went straight to Archer at deep midwicket and the England pacer put it down, and had his hands on the head. On a day Carey produced magic on the field without his gloves on – taking two stunning outfield catches – the catch that was dropped off his bat was a costly moment. Archer came on to bowl the next over and conceded two boundaries off the first two balls, rubbing salt into England’s collective wounds. It was around this time that the win predictor on broadcast swung in Australia’s favour. When Carey and Inglis had begun their partnership, that number stood at over 80 percent in favour of England.
In Inglis and Carey, Australia picked two in-form batters in their XI, though they typically compete for one spot. And it paid dividends as the duo put on a match-changing 146-run partnership off just 116 balls to overhaul England’s 351/8.
The scorecard will say that England had the highest individual score on the night – in fact, the highest individual score in the history of the ICC Champions Trophy – Ben Duckett’s 165 off 143 balls. England had the highest partnership too with Duckett and Root adding 158 for the third wicket. But what Australia had was a clear target in front of them, a good understanding of the conditions with dew settling late on, and a calculated deconstruction of England’s bowling plans where they saw off Rashid and the two part-time spin options with minimal damage and went after the pace bowlers.
At the 30-over mark, England were 200/2 while Australia were a bit behind on 197/4. The traditional ODI formula is to double that score in the remaining 20 overs if there are wickets in hand. But Adam Zampa removed Root and Harry Brook in quick succession to put a spanner in England’s progress.
Between overs 31-40, both teams scored 68 runs but England lost two wickets where Australia lost none. England also suffered another setback as they looked to launch in the last 10 where Jos Buttler had a critical role to play. After a steady start, he started to push the pedal in the 41st over with a six and four off Glenn Maxwell. But the England captain got out off the last ball of that over, looked down on the pitch and punched it with his right glove in frustration.
Another one of those game-changing moments, it was perhaps the difference between 375 and 350 as England fell well short of doubling their 30-over tally.
Duckett’s 165 in vain
Earlier in the day, Duckett showed the hunger for scoring big runs (something that came under criticism during England’s abject series defeat in India recently) to give England a chance. After Phil Salt was left stunned by a spectacular catch at mid-on by Carey, and was soon followed to the dressing by Jamie Smith, Duckett and Root went about steadying the ship. The run rate didn’t drop too much while the two built a solid base. But it wasn’t enough.
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“You’d take 350 at the start,” Buttler said after the match. On most days, such a total would have been sufficient. After all, 350+ wasn’t ever chased down in the history of ICC ODI events before Saturday. But Australia – without three of their talismanic pacers and with minimal contributions from their two experienced batters in Steve Smith and Travis Head – showed why they are made for the big stage.
