Tom Banton struck a magnificent 121 from 99 balls and Gus Atkinson claimed a career-best 4 for 28 as England thrashed Australia by 135 runs in the second ODI at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, levelling the three-match series 1-1 and setting up a decider in Hobart on Wednesday.
Put in to bat after Australia won the toss, England posted 355 for 6, their highest ODI total on Australian soil. Banton was struck on the helmet by a sharp Spencer Johnson bouncer in the sixth over, a blow that dislodged his neck guard, but he answered by attacking the short ball, hitting ten of his 16 boundaries through the leg side, including all four of his sixes. He reached his second ODI hundred from 86 balls and finished with 12 fours and four sixes.
Joe Root made 62 from 68 balls in his 201st ODI, sharing a 137-run second-wicket stand with Banton, an England record for that wicket in Australia. Root fell to a top edge off Cooper Connolly and captain Harry Brook made only 5, but Jordan Cox smashed 67 from 49 balls, his second ODI fifty, and Will Jacks finished unbeaten on 54 from 40 as England powered past 350. Xavier Bartlett took 3 for 72 for the hosts.
Chasing 356, Australia collapsed to 13 for 3 as Atkinson and Sonny Baker, promoted to the new ball ahead of Jofra Archer, struck with edges to slip, including a leaping catch by Root to remove captain Mitchell Marsh. Atkinson then added Josh Inglis to make it 29 for 4, and at that stage Australia’s lowest ODI total, 70 at this ground in 1986, looked under threat.
Cameron Green and Matt Renshaw rebuilt with a 98-run fifth-wicket stand, helped by dropped catches when Green was on 7 and Renshaw on 27, but Liam Dawson trapped Renshaw lbw for 63 with a reverse sweep, and Green fell for 64, stumped after a deflection off wicketkeeper Jordan Cox’s shin. Sam Curran then took two wickets in two balls, and Australia were bowled out for 220 in 44.3 overs, Archer closing out the contest with 5.3 overs to spare.
It was a complete reversal of the Perth opener, where debutant Mahli Beardman had taken 6 for 24 in a seven-wicket win. Beardman was rested as a precaution after his exertions at Optus Stadium, and without him Australia’s attack had no answer. Banton was named Player of the Match, and England will take real confidence into Wednesday’s decider in Hobart, with both sides building towards the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.
Related: https://t20star.com/beardmans-record-six-for-powers-australia-to-seven-wicket-win-over-england-in-perth/ and https://t20star.com/beardman-eyes-encore-as-australia-chase-series-win-over-england-in-adelaide/
