 The fourth ODI of the five game series between Australia and England will
be played at the Oval in London on Wednesday. Not too many would have expected
this, but the game would be inconsequential and be only of academic interest,
given that the English side has already won the series 3-0.
Australia will now look to play for pride. The side has struggled throughout
the series with their bowling, while in the last couple of games their batting
has been even worse. In the three games of the series, Australia has batted
first and after a near-270 scored in the first ODI, the other two have seen
them make only 240 and 210 respectively, something that hasn't worked for them.
Ricky Ponting's continuing run of bad form coupled with not too many contributions
from the middle order has almost meant that the side has struggled in the end
portion of the innings and that is where they have lost their games.
Click for Live Score Card of England Vs Australia
The bowling has been another story as it has looked toothless so far. The good
news came in the form of Nathan Hauriz's injury which saw the management opt
for Shaun Tait for the series. A rather fit Tait came searing in the
3rd ODI and almost blew the English batting apart, making one wonder about his
exclusion from the side in the first place.
However, the Aussies will know that Tait alone will not be able to do much,
especially after the English side would now have understood that it would be
better not to give away wickets to him - instead play out his ten overs and
score off the rest of the bowlers.
This means that the Aussies will need the runs from the batsmen and then hope
that their bowlers do a reasonable job as well.
England, on the other hand, will be basking in the series win over Australia,
but will look to make it 5-0 for their side. After all, the hosts play Australia
in the Ashes later this year and will love to go into the series with some kind
of impression made. This will mean that the Aussies will need to face up to
a resurgent English side who will attack them more than earlier and play without
the pressure of winning the series.
With Eoin Morgan in the form of his life and the rest of the spinners
doing well enough for England, this is their best chance to get the better
of the opposition in a long time!
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