As much as the sandpaper soap opera continued to deal in alternative facts on Sunday, recollections of this second one-day international are unlikely to differ. For Tom Banton and Gus Atkinson, architects of an emphatic 135-run victory for England that levelled the series, it was unquestionably a match to remember.
Banton was sublime after England were asked to bat first, unfurling a crisp 121 from just 99 balls to underpin an imposing total of 355 for six. No touring side had ever gone bigger on Australian soil – the ideal platform for Harry Brook’s pace attack to release the handbrake and level this three-match series.
Not that it was a done deal at the halfway stage. England somehow failed to defend 429 during their recent tri-series blowout in Pakistan, while Adil Rashid, their middle overs maestro for the past 11 years, was once again ferrying drinks.
But up stepped Atkinson with a three-wicket new-ball burst that derailed Australia’s chase from the outset. From 29 for four the hosts rallied through half-centuries from Cameron Green and Matt Renshaw yet still finished well short of the target. Their eventual 220 all out owed as much to three drops in the field.
The two teams now travel to Hobart for a decider on Wednesday and the kind of scenario that Brook’s side have been craving a year out from the World Cup. They are far from the finished product, clearly, but Banton’s second century since breaking back into the side in the summer is certainly a positive.
This surface was a world away from the bounce of Perth, while young Mahli Beardman, Australia’s six-wicket star 48 hours earlier, was rested. After shaking off an early blow to the head from Spencer Johnson, Banton carved fours through extra cover and sent four sixes over the Adelaide Oval’s short square boundaries.
Another plus that England’s batting fired without Brook contributing much. The captain’s dismissal, bowled for five trying to ramp Riley Meredith, will have done little to change his reputation in this particular part of the world. Joe Root had just departed for a fluent 62, while Banton was motoring at the other end.
Even with fine leg up, it was a poor option from Brook and, after Banton fell, shown up by what followed from Jordan Cox and Will Jacks. Cox in particular showed what was possible with a patient start, his 49-ball 67 timed to perfection and featuring one absurd reverse-scooped four when down on both knees.
Jacks similarly built towards a climax with an unbeaten 54 from 40 balls, while Atkinson cracked a couple of late sixes. The latter was just getting going, it turned out, sharing the new ball with the recalled Sonny Baker and wiping out Travis Head, Cooper Connolly and Josh Inglis inside the first seven overs.
While Atkinson was all waspish straight lines aided by nip and carry, Baker was getting late outswing. The youngster’s removal of the in-form Mitch Marsh for two – one of two excellent slip catches by Root – justified his ousting Jamie Overton from the XI, as well as being preferred to Jofra Archer up top.
Both Renshaw and Green profited from early lives as England’s hands went from adhesive to teflon, before the pair rebuilt with a 98-run stand that briefly raised Australian hopes. These were eventually doused by Liam Dawson trapping Renshaw lbw from around the wicket.
Most eye-catching among the second collapse of four for 46 was Sam Curran bowling the giant Jack Edwards with a glacial slower ball before inflicting a first-baller for Xavier Bartlett. With Dawson eventually getting Green stumped, and Atkinson completing figures of four by 28 from 10 overs by removing Adam Zampa, it was left to Archer to seal the win with a yorker that knocked over Johnson.
It was a day to forget for Australia on the field, therefore. Albeit with Chadd Sayers giving a public account of events in Cape Town eight years ago before play – one that undermined that from Pat Cummins last week – it was no less significant.
