England's Dominating Victory Over Australia With Record-Breaking Total Of 481 Runs

England showcased dominance in ODI cricket, crushing Australia with a monumental score of 481 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.

Led by standout performances from Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales, England’s batting prowess shattered records, leaving Australia reeling from their heaviest defeat by a margin of 242 runs. England became the first team in ODI history to achieve 450 runs when they hammered 21 sixes and 41 fours on the same field where they destroyed the previous mark.

England became the first team to surpass 450 in ODI history by smashing 21 sixes and 41 fours on the same Trent Bridge pitch where they earlier broke the mark, 444 for 3 against Pakistan in August 2016 in the most recent completed ODI on the field. In the 56-year history of List A cricket, no team has scored more than Surrey’s 496 for 4 victory over Gloucestershire at The Oval in 2007.

England defeated Australia 239 (Rashid 4-47, Moeen 3-28) by 242 runs with 481 for 6 (Hales 147, Bairstow 139).

In terms of runs scored, England’s thrashing of the highest score in ODI cricket history set up Australia’s most humiliating ever defeat.

As a result of the outcome, England now holds a commanding 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Now, Australia has lost eight of the last nine One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against England and five consecutive ODI series. In fact, out of their last 16 One-Day Internationals against all opponents, they have only won two.

With two games remaining, England has the opportunity to accomplish their first-ever 5-0 rout of Australia. This is the first time that England have won back-to-back ODI series against Australia since 1986–87. In 2012, they triumphed 4-0, with one match called off due to bad weather.

High-class centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales, together with the fastest half-century in England’s ODI history from Eoin Morgan, provided the cornerstone of their total. It was Bairstow’s fourth ODI century in six innings and his sixth in 19 since his recall less than a year ago. Bairstow was in fine form. At 65.76, he now holds the greatest batting average of any player to open in more than ten One-Day International cricket matches.

He is hitting so well that it is evident that he is one of just two players in the top 50 of that list with a strike-rate above 100 (his is 114.19). The other is Jason Roy, his opening partner, which shows how the game has changed and how England has been at the forefront of that development.

Here, the two worked together wonderfully. They posted an opening stand of 159 in 19.3 overs, the 10th highest opening partnership against Australia in ODI history, with Bairstow in the kind of form that makes a length delivery an opportunity to drive or pull, and Roy killing it against the short ball—he played a hook in the opening overs that traveled far enough to require a visa.

There were several anxious times. Replays revealed the ball brushed Roy’s trousers, but Australia called for a review after they believed they saw an inside edge on a Stanlake ball that nipped back at Roy. Meanwhile, Marcus Stoinis dropped Bairstow on 30 after he was given out leg before attempting to sweep Ashton Agar.

Also Read: Reliving England’s Epic 2019 Cricket World Cup Win: A Triumph Against All Odds

This was one-way traffic, those minutes apart. England gorged and feasted on runs till they poured down their chins on a ground that most bowlers would prefer to never see again and most batsmen would like to whisk to Paris for the weekend. Hales quickly dashed any hopes that Australia’s suffering would lessen following Roy’s dismissal for an imprudent second run attempt.

With a 62-ball century, the sixth-fastest in England history (all of which have happened since the 2015 World Cup), he made a compelling case for his continued play just one day after he had, very reasonably, confessed that he would probably be the man to make way once Ben Stokes returned.

Returning to his native ground, where he crushed 171 against Pakistan in 2016, he displayed amazing strength along with excellent placement and stroke choice. Heaved through or over the leg side on about two thirds of his runs.

For a while, it appeared as though England may make it to 500. Morgan hammered a 21-ball half-century despite losing Bairstow, heaving down the neck of deep midwicket, and Jos Buttler, tricked by a slower ball. After overcoming the back spasm that prevented him from playing in the Cardiff match, Morgan became England’s most prolific run-scorer in ODI history by breaking Ian Bell’s record and recording the fastest fifty in the history of the format.

In the field, Australia attempted almost every tactic imaginable, including walking around the wicket, bowling full, short, and even trying eight bowlers, but to little effect. Even though AJ Tye had the worst numbers—becoming just the 11th player to give up 100 in an ODI innings and the fourth to do so in less than 10 overs—this was a day that they will all be regretting for years to come.

Australia’s response got off to a decent start. To assist Australia maintain up with the pace for the first 12 overs, D’Arcy Short sliced David Willey’s first delivery for six and his second for four. Meanwhile, Travis Head parried a nasty blow from a Mark Wood bouncer (Wood hit over 91 mph in that opening spell).

However, achieving that goal—such a large goal—required unending risk-taking. Additionally, Head poked a return catch to Moeen Ali after Short chipped one to mid-on, and Shaun Marsh lofted one to long-on. Marcus Stoinis attempted an imprudent second to Bairstow’s arm in the deep, and Aaron Finch, trying to repeat a six clobbered over long-on, was deceived by one nicely held back by Adil Rashid (Finch, moved into the middle-order to combat spin, has been dismissed by it three times in 13 balls this series).

It was obvious that this was going to be a thrashing by the time a leaping Liam Plunkett wonderfully caught Glenn Maxwell at long-on. In ODI cricket, England had never triumphed by such a wide margin of runs. With seven wickets in all, England’s spinners—a crucial differentiator between the two teams in this series—came to the end.

Are these playing conditions beneficial to the game? Are white balls with little lateral movement and surfaces with predictable pace and carry? The discussion will go on. Undoubtedly, there were elements of this match that made for an exciting and unforgettable spectacle, primarily some really aggressive hitting. And without a question, Trent Bridge’s ground crew delivered exactly what was required of them. We may anticipate seeing more of this at the World Cup the following year, not only at Trent Bridge.

Boundaries do have an inflationary component, though. They eventually start to lose a little bit of their freshness and possibly their charm. It’s enough to state that under such conditions, any pretense of keeping the bat and ball in balance vanishes. Similar to how a clay pigeon competes in a shooting match, bowlers compete. Although the cricket match that day was exceptional, you wouldn’t want every day to be like this.

There are also a few other disclaimers. This Australian assault, which as it stands lacks at least three first-choice seamers, is not the strongest, and the comparatively short boundaries meant that top-edges carried for sixes on a few occasions. On Australian soil, they might have been handed over.

However, the boundaries are shorter and the attacks are weaker. Even so, this was a fantastic performance from an amazing England batting lineup that is playing incredibly bold, inventive, and potent cricket. Since the 2015 World Cup, when one of these teams won the title and the other was humiliated, it has grown increasingly difficult to comprehend how the roles have been flipped as this series has gone on.

Until England does it in a major event, it won’t mean much, but you can be assured that no team, and most especially no bowling attack, will enjoy taking them on in these kinds of conditions.