It wasn’t just Australian wickets that tumbled at Trent Bridge yesterday - so did one-day records as England obliterated their old foe in sensational style.
The hosts smashed a world-record 481-6 in their 50 overs, the highest one-day international (ODI) total in history, before taking just 37 overs to dismiss the Aussies for 239.
The crushing victory was England’s third in the five-match ODI series and means they have an unassailable lead with two games to spare. The 242-run defeat was Australia’s heaviest in 47 years and 915 games of one-day cricket, surpassing a 206-run loss to New Zealand in 1986.
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England’s total was just one of several records set on a memorable day for the Nottingham crowd, who in years to come will tell their grandchildren that:
- It was England’s biggest one-day win and Australia’s heaviest defeat
- The 62 boundaries was a record for a one-day international
- Eoin Morgan became the first English batsman to reach 3,000 one-day runs
- Morgan’s 21-ball half-century was the fastest by an England player in a one-day game
- Jonny Bairstow’s century was his fourth one-day ton in 2018, equalling David Gower’s record in a calendar year set in 1983
- Bairstow and Jason Roy’s opening stand of 159 equalled the England record shared by Nick Knight and Marcus Trescothick
Bairstow was eventually dismissed for 139 but remarkably he wasn’t England’s top scorer. Alex Hales eclipsed Bairstow with a sublime 147, a total that included 16 fours and five sixes. Bairstow struck a similar number of maximums but managed one fewer four. The pair each took 92 balls to reach their scores.
Roy struck his 82 runs off just 61 balls and Morgan needed just 30 balls to compile his 67.
For Australia it was the stuff of which nightmares are made, and Andrew Tye was made to suffer more than anyone. The 31-year-old returned figures of 0-100 off nine overs, making him only the second Aussie to leak a century of runs in a one-day international.
The first was Mick Lewis, who went for 113 wicketless runs in ten overs against South Africa in 2006. Lewis hasn’t been seen in Australian colours since.
Having had the stuffing knocked out of them by England’s batsmen, the Aussies were then humbled by the bowlers, with Travis Head the only tourist to pass 50. England spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali shared seven of the wickets with the former finishing with figures of 4-47 from his ten overs.
What they said
Jonathan Agnew, BBC cricket correspondent: “It was ruthless from England. The wheels fell off for Australia. This is a poor Australian side who have been utterly dismantled.”
England captain Eoin Morgan: “It’s as close as we’ve ever been to a perfect day. It’s as complete a performance as we’ve produced over the past three years.”
Australian captain Tim Paine: “It was the hardest day of cricket I've ever had in my life… as bad as it seems and it feels right now, this can be a really big positive for us going forward, that we have gone through a day like this and the guys realise the sun comes up tomorrow and we get another crack at England in two days’ time.”
The Australian newspaper: “This was an omnishambles. A debacle. It was the sort of game that may see those involved seek trauma counselling in the days that follow. The sort of effort that could end careers - some even before they got a chance to really start. This was brutal, this was historic, this was a slaughter of the [bowling] lambs.”
Brisbane Courier-Mail newspaper: “England has heaped further humiliation on an Australian one-day team in freefall… Australia now joins a list that includes Bermuda, Namibia and Hong Kong, who have all lost one-day internationals by more than 240 runs.”
England vs. Australia ODI series: results and fixtures
- 1st ODI: England won by three wickets
- 2nd ODI: England won by 38 runs
- 3rd ODI: England won by 242 runs
- 21 June: 4th ODI at Riverside, Chester-le-Street (2pm)
- 24 June: 5th ODI at Old Trafford, Manchester (11am)
